Butterbar

All these names are too complicated to remember. So I came up with a different and more revolutionary and simple solution. I petition to name the Moon Æ. We the name the other things based on their distance from Earth. Venus is ÆÆ, Mars shall be ÆÆÆ, Mercury is ÆÆÆÆ, and the Sun shall be ÆÆÆÆÆ. Bodies in the Outer Solar System shall use Œ based on distance to Sun. Ceres is Œ. Jupiter is ŒŒ. Saturn is ŒŒŒ, and so on. So ŒŒŒ orbits ÆÆÆÆÆ, and NASA wants to go to ÆÆÆ by 2030. For that matter, change the numerical system. This little buddy ึ is stackable and thus provides imagery for how much it is. So NASA wants to go to ÆÆÆ in ึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึึ.

CHAPTER NINETEEN: The Last Munshot ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ CAPITAL SUN TIMES (SINCE 1845) ~ 1961, Month 1, Day 2 ~ THE LAST KERBALS ON THE MUN: MUNSHOT-6 SAFELY TOUCHES DOWN IN THE FARSIDE CRATER WRITTEN BY JENLONG KERMAN ABOVE: MUNSHOT-6 LANDED ON THE FARSIDE CRATER OF THE MUN. KERMAN SPACE CENTER - THE LAST FLIGHT OF THE UNITED PROVINCIAL MUNSHOT-6 TOUCHED DOWN ON THE MUNAR SURFACE TODAY, MARKING THE EIGHTH TIME KERBALKIND HAS TRAVELLED TO THE MUN (IF ONE COUNTS THE THREE MUNA MISSIONS). DR. HENWIN KERMAN, A SPACE-SPECIALIZING PHYSICIST WHO SERVED IN THE JUPITER PROGRAM, AND MAJOR SANCEE KERMAN OF THE UNITED PROVINCIAL AIR FORCE PILOTED THEIR SMALL CRAFT ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE MUN, EVENTUALLY LANDING ON THE FARSIDE CRATER. WITH MUNSHOT-7, 8, AND 9 ALL CANCELLED, THE PROSPECT OF ANOTHER PROVINCIAL EXPEDITION TO THE MUNAR SURFACE FACES AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE. ARA PROPOSES "MUNSHOT-GENESIS INTEGRATED PROGRAM" THE END OF THE MUNSHOT-PROGRAM COMES AT A CRUCIAL TIME FOR THE UNITED PROVINCES, WHO NOW, WITH THE REMAINING GENESIS AND MUNSHOT FLIGHTS CANCELLED INT HE BUDGETARY SQUEEZE, FACES A CROSSROADS IN SPACEFLIGHT. WITH NEW INFRASTRUCTURE SUCH THE MUNLAB, THE AGENCY REPORTS IT'S POST-MUNSHOT PROJECTS ARE ALL ON SCHEDULE AND UNDER BUDGET. THE ARA HAS RELEASED A TIMETABLE OF IT'S PROPOSED MILESTONES DEEMED NECESSARY FOR A EXPEDITION TO DUNA UNDER THE "VERY ADVANCED MUNSHOT-GENESIS INTEGRATED PROGRAM". AMONG IT'S PLANS ARE A MUNAR SURFACE OUTPOST, THE CONTINUATION OF MUNLAB, THE SATURN STATION , AS WELL AS A SATELLITE NETWORK AND MANNED MISSIONS TO MINMUS. "WE'RE ALSO LOOKING INTO A BASE ON MINMUS", DR. LINUS KERMAN, THE SCIENCE DIRECTOR OF THE ARA, ANNOUNCED. "EXCEPT AT THIS STAGE PROBABLY WON'T HAPPEN UNTIL AFTER 1970. WHO KNOWS. A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN TEN YEARS. TEN YEARS AGO, I THINK KERBALS WOULD HAVE SAID WHAT WE ARE DOING TODAY WAS 'IMPOSSIBLE BULL EXCREMENT'. THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE." ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ CAPITAL SUN TIMES (SINCE 1845) ~ 1961, Month 2, Day 15 ~ MUNLAB-1 REPORTS SUCCESSFUL DOCKING: KERBALKIND NOW A TWO-WORLD SPECIES WRITTEN BY JENLONG KERMAN KERMAN SPACE CENTER - GEOFFREY KERMAN, THE MISSION COMMANDER OF THE MUNLAB-1, BEGAN THE FIRST PERIOD OF TIME IN WHICH KERBALKIND HAS MANNED AN OUTPOST ON ANOTHER WORLD. MAKING HISTORY, THE THREE CREWMEMBERS - ALL SEASONED VETERANS OF THE GENESIS AND MUNSHOT PROGRAMS, BOARDED THE SPACE STATION, ACTIVATING IT'S LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND BEGINNING THEIR STAY IN MUNAR ORBIT. NOW THOUSANDS OF KILOMETERS IN A HOME AWAY FROM HOME, THEY WILL BEGIN THEIR MISSION OF A YEAR-LONG STAY, CONDUCTING RESEARCH INTO LIVING IN INTERPLANETARY SPACE AS WELL AS STUDYING THE MUN ITSELF. THE MUNLAB COMES EQUIPPED WITH A SHOWER, TELEVISION, RADIO, AND DINING ROOMS FOR THE THREE CREWMEMBERS. IT IS ALSO EQUIPPED WITH A RADIO TELESCOPE AND MATERIAL SCIENCE BAY, ALLOWING IT TO PERFORM A WIDE RANGE OF EXPERIMENTS. THE STATION IS CAPABLE OF HOSTING A CREW OF SIX AT IT'S "SURGE CAPACITY": THIS WOULD, HOWEVER, REQUIRE THE STATION TO BE RESUPPLIED EVERY SIX MONTHS INSTEAD OF THE USUAL YEAR. SHOULD IT NEED IT, THE STATION CONTAINS A EMERGENCY ALTITUDE CONTROL SYSTEM: A SERIES OF SMALL MONOPROPELLANT THRUSTERS THAT WOULD ENABLE IT TO AVOID COLLISION OR ADJUST IT'S ORBIT WHEN NEEDED. TOMORROW, THE CREW WILL CONDUCT A TELEVISED BROADCAST THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, IN WHICH THEY WILL TAKE QUESTIONS FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC AS WELL AS CONDUCT SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS AS PART OF THE FRANK ADMINISTRATIONS "MORE YOUNG KERBALS INTO ENGINEERING" PROGRAM. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

I believe that Kerbal meter and their kilometer is far greater than a Earth meter and Earth kilometer, and that their units of time measurement are greater than humans, so their solar system is the same size as the Sol System but since their units of measurement are bigger than ours and they experience time at a slower rate, we believe that their solar system is extremely dense when in reality nothing is wrong. Kerbals evolved with their own units of measurement with their own civilization and the only similarity with ours is the name.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Munlab ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ☭ ҬҤЄ VФЇҪԐ ФӺ ГЊЭ PЯФLЄҐДЯЇДҬ ☭ 1960, ԠФЍҬЊ 3, DДЧ 1 ЏИЇҬԐD PЯФVЇИҪЭS LДЙDS MЏЍSЊФҐ-5, LДЙDS ҐШФ MФЯԐ ҚЄЯБДLS ФИ MЏИ, "DФ ЍФГ ЩФЯЯЧ", SДҰS PДЯҬҰ ҪӉДIЯMДЙ ЩЯЇГҐЭИ ЬҰ ҜЯЇБԞФV ҠЄЯԠДЍ ДБФVЄ: ҐӉЭ "MЏЙSҢФҬ-5" SPДҪԐSҢЇP ФЍ ҬҢԐ MЦИДЯ SЦЯӺДҪЭ ҬӉЄ ҚЯԐMLЇИ - Д ЯДDЇФ БЯФДDҪДSГ ӺЯФM ГҢԐ ШЭSҐ ҐФDДҰ ҪФЍӺЇЯԠԐD ҐӉДҐ ҬЊЭЧ hДD LДИDЄD ГЊЭ MЏИSЊФГ-5 ФЙГФ ҐҢԐ MЏЙДЯ SЦЯҒДҪЄ. ГӉЇS ӺФLLФШS SԐVЭЯДL ФҬӉЭЯ MЇSSЇФИS ҐФ ГЊԐ MЦИ, ДЙD ЇS Д PДЯҐ ФӺ ГҤЭЇЯ PLДЙ ҐФ ҪФЙSГЯЦҪҐ ФЦҬPФSГS ФЍ ҬҢЄ MЏЙДЯ SЏЯӺДҪЄ ДS Д ЩДҰPФЇИҬ ҒФЯ Д ЭЖPЄDЇҬЇФЍ ҬФ DЏИД, ГҢЭҰ ҪLДЇM. ЊФШЄVЄЯ, ГЊЭ GФVЄЯЙMЭЙГ ФӺ ҐҤԐ PЯФLԐҬДЯЇДҬ ӉДS DЇSPЦҐЭD ГҤESЄ ҪLДЇMS. "ҬӉԐ ЦЍЇҬЄD PЯФVЇЙҪЄS ӉДS ЧЄГ ГФ SԐЙD Д PЯФЪԐ ҐФ DЦИД. ГҤДҐ ГҤԐЧ ДЯԐ ЩЇLLЇЍG ГФ ҐҤЯФЩ ДШДҰ ГӉЄ LЇVЄS ФӺ ҐҢЭЇЯ PԐЯSФЍИЭL ГФ ДҪҪФԠPLЇSЊ ҬҢЭ ԐGФMДЙЇДҪДL DЯЄДMS ФӺ ҬҤЭ БФЏЯGЭФЇSЇԐ ЇS ҒЏЯҬҤЭЯ PЯФФӺ ФӺ ҬҤЄ ЇЍДЪЇLЇҬЧ ФҒ DЭMФҪЯДГЇҪ ҪДPЇҬДLЇSҬ ИДҐЇФЙS ЇЍ ҐЊЄ ЩЄSҬ ҬФ ҪДЯԐ ӺФЯ ГӉЭЇЯ ФЩЍ ҚԐЯЪДLS", ҬҤԐ PДЯҬҰ SҐДГЭD ҬФDДҰ. "ДЍD ҒЦЯГЊЄЯ ЯԐДSФИS ЩӉҰ ШЭ ҬЦЯИЭD ФЏЯ ЊФPЄS ҐФ Д ҪФMMЏЍЇSҐ ҒФЯM ФӺ GФVЄЯЍMЄЙГ ҐЯЏLҰ ӺФЯ ҐҤԐ ҪOMMФИ ԞЄЯЪДL". GԐЙЄЯДL ЙЇԞФV ҚԐЯMДЙ, ҬЊЭ ИԐШ DЇЯԐҪҬФЯ ФӺ ГҤЭ ДԐЯФSPДҪЭ ӺФЯҪԐS, ӉДS ДЍЙФЏЙҪԐD ҬЊԐЇЯ ФШЍ SPДҪЄ SҬДГЇФЍ PЯOGЯДM ҐФ ҪФЦЍҬԐЯ ГҤЭ ЦИЇҐЭD PЯФVЇИҪЄS SPДҪЄ SҬДГЇФЍ SДҬЦЯЍ. SPДҪԐ SГДҐЇФЙ ЯԐD SҜЧ ЩЇLL ЬԐ ЪЭҪФԠЄ ФPԐЯДҐЇФИДL БҰ 1961, ДЍD SЦPPФЯҬ Д SЄЯЇЄS ФҒ DЭDЇҪДГԐD ЍЏҪLЄДЯ-PФШЄЯЭD MЦЍДЯ ҬЦGS ЩЊФ ЩЇLL LДЦЙҪӉ RԐGЏLДЯ ӺLЇGЊГS ГФ ГӉԐ MЦЙ. "ШЄ ҪДИЙФҐ ДLLФШ ҐҤЄSЭ ҪДPЇҐДLЇSҬ ЇЙDЏSҐЯЇДL PДЯДSЇҬЄS ҬФ SЏҪҜ ҬҢЭ LЇҒԐ ФЦҐ ФҒ ҬӉЄ ӉԐДVЄЙS", ҢЭ ДЯGЦЭD ГФDДЧ. "ЩЭ MЦSҬ ЬЄGЇЍ DЄVЭLФPЇИG ГЊЄ ЙԐҪԐSSЇҬЇԐS ҒФЯ Д DЦЙД ԐӾPЭDЇГЇФЙ, ФЯ ԐLSԐ ФҐҢԐЯЩЇSЭ ҐЊЄ ЦSЯ ДЍD ҬЊЄ ЯЇGӉҬS ФӺ ҬЊЭ PЯФLԐҬДЯЇДҬ ЩЇLL ЍФҬ SЏЯVЇVԐ". ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ CAPITAL SUN TIMES (SINCE 1845) ~ 1960, Month 5, Day 28 ~ MUNLAB: A Q&A WITH THE HEAD OF THE PROGRAM WRITTEN BY WALTER KERMAN ABOVE: THE MUNLAB IN MUNAR ORBIT, THE FIRST OUTPOST OF KERBALKIND ON ANOTHER WORLD THE MUNLAB IS THE FIRST KERBAL STATION TO ORBIT THE MUN, AS WELL AS THE FIRST KERBAL OUTPOST ON ANOTHER WORLD. THE STATION WAS DESIGNED BY DR. LOGAS KERMAN, WHO LATER ACTED AS FLIGHT DIRECTOR DURING IT'S LAUNCH ON THE FIRST FLIGHT OF THE NEW NOVA-CLASS ROCKET. TODAY, HE IS HERE WITH US IN THE VISITOR LOBBY OUTSIDE THE "GATES TO THE UNIVERSE" TO TALK WITH US ABOUT THE MUNLAB. Q. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE MUNLAB A. The main goal of the Munlab program is to provide a research center that's not on Kerbin, but far away from it so that we can keep a team of Kerbonauts constantly in the field instead of having to bring them home in less than a week, you know? The Munlab is built for endurance. It's able to regenerate water, oxygen, and the basic necessities of life. All we need to do is ship food to the station. That's it. Q. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO PROPOSE THE MUNLAB TO YOUR BOSSES? A. When I came up with what would later become Munlab, I was an Flight Science graduate student doing a study-work internship under Dr. Wernher von Kerman in the summer of '53. Wernher was our mentor; me and the other students would gather with him during Saturday evening to listen to the radio while playing cards and discussing new developments in spaceflight. During that time, spaceflight was obviously in it's infancy compared to how much it's grown now, so Wernher would often ask us to come up with a unique idea for a future mission. And one night, the song Munlight Love was playing, so I wondered, why not build a station around the Mun? Q. HOW DID YOU DEVELOP THIS STATION? WAS IT HARD TO GAIN SUPPORT? A. It definitely was hard at first; I knew that with other projects going on, they weren't going to build a massive multi-module station around the Mun in multiple launches. So it had to go up in one; something that wasn't really possible with the Genesis or Juno rockets of the tme. It wasn't really until the rumors came of the Nova-class rocket in 1958 did I start to take this idea seriously. Q. AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT? A. I had met with CEO Lupus Kerman of Jebediah Kerman's Spaceship Parts as well as Vice President Max Kerman of Rockomax at the annual Provincial Airshow in 1955, and we had all exchanged contact information. So when the news of the Nova broke out, I went to Max, and said, "Hey Max, I've heard about the Nova, and I've got an idea for a payload". Lupus later helped me integrate the new 2.5M habitat modules into the Munlab, which ensured it's compatibility with the Nova, and with the two largest contractors behind my plan as well as a low cost estimate, we were in the door. Q.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PRESIDENT FRANK'S DUNA PROGRAM? A. I think it's a good sign for a political leader to take an active interest in the future of Kerbalkind, but I don't like the whole "race" behind it. International cooperation is the key. Maybe we can see eye-to-eye in the future since we've both gotten the capability of bringing a Kerbal to the Mun, maybe we don't. Only time can tell us. Q. HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN THE MUNLAB LAUNCHED? A. Relief, mostly. The reorganization of all our [the ARA's] assets to accomplish interplanetary spaceflight put my project on the upper end of the list from where it had been, but it was still nerve-wracking to read that fiscal bill and not know if the project you've poured everything into has survived. A couple friends of mine weren't as fortunate. One of them wanted to do a Dres flyby probe. Q. FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, WHAT'S DRES, AND WHY DO YOU WANT TO FLYBY IT? A. Science, mostly. Dres is a planetoid, doesn't really get much attention nowadays. It's between Jool and Duna. Some fellows at here [at KSC] call it the "gateway to the stars", since it's at the very edge of the inner solar system. Q. WHAT ABOUT THE PLANS OF THE SPACE PROGRAM AFTER TODAY'S EVENTS? A. Munlab will definitely get attention, most certainly. But we're going to be focused on a manned expedition to Duna or maybe one of it's moons as a precursor. Depending on the circumstances, we might head for Eve instead. We've got a lot to learn about these subjects, and I'm hoping the Duna-Eve Lander project that we're working on will teach us more about them. The planets have always fascinated our species, and I'm hoping that in my lifetime we'll get answers to the questions we've had for centuries. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ EDIT: I'm not sure about the viability of faux Cyrillic, so I'm going to see if there's any issues with the first half of this post.

Nevermind, reinstall fixed the issue.

Not possible, or otherwise extremely, extremely, unlikely. Also, although the Dreamchaser lost out on the Commercial Crew contracts, a cargo variant is being developed, but with Boeing and SpaceX both promising that they will be ready to fly by next year, NASA is unlikely to alienate one of their biggest contractors and a huge political power in the Aerospace Industry (Boeing) by upending their portion of the CST-100 contract. Bigelow and SpaceX is plausible, since both share common ground (Both founded by billionaires who made their fortunately relatively early, both newcomers to the Aerospace Industry), but it might not happen, it might. I'll give it a 50/50. BEAM will probably happen next year as well, so I'd bet on that one. We are nowhere close to this advanced as to be able to land a human on Venus and return them safely (This is coming from a person who already thinks that a Mars mission could be accomplished with todays technology - see Mars Direct). Toss in another century into the equation and it'll be plausible, but if you mean a manned mission, this is wildly optimistic. NASA had studies for manned missions to Jupiter and Saturn and not Venus. If the space program is willing to leave the inner solar system rather than go to one of the closest planets, that's saying something about the likelihood of a manned mission to said planet occurring anywhere this century.

A base on Eve. Thick atmosphere and I couldn't land anything without parachutes. Learned my lesson really quick there.

I based him off a mix of John F. Kennedy, LBJ, and Eisenhower. All three supported the space program in a general sense but saw more political objectives as higher priority. Some of what Frank says are close to direct quotes from White House tapes from the LBJ and JFK administration, just with specific words (Munshot for Apollo, Duna for Moon, .etc) switched out.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Jupiter Sets ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1959, Month 6, Day 7 ~ BULLS EYE! MUNSHOT-3 BRINGS TWO KERBALS TO THE MUN WRITTEN BY DOLING KERMAN ABOVE: THE SCENE IN THE MUNAR HIGHLANDS AS THE MUNSHOT-3 TOUCHED DOWN SAFELY EARLY THIS MORNING KERMAN SPACE CENTER - KERBALS HAVE LANDED AND WALKED UPON THE MUN FOR THE THIRD TIME. TWO PROVINCIAL KERBONAUTS STEERED THEIR FRAGILE SPACESHIP SAFELY AND SMOOTHLY TO THE MUNAR HIGHLANDS EARLY THIS MORNING, CONFIRMING A TOUCHDOWN AT 3:22 AM CENTRAL TIME. FELIX C. KERMAN, WHO PREVIOUSLY FLEW ON THE GENESIS-5, RADIOED A MESSAGE TO MISSION SUPPORT. "I CAN SEE OUR PLANET RISING OVER THE HILLS NOW. GROUND CONTACT CONFIRMED, MUNSHOT-3 HAS TOUCHED DOWN SAFELY.", HE ANNOUNCED TO A ROOM OF CHEERING CONTROLLERS. THE MUNSHOT-3 WAS THE THIRD EXPEDITION TO THE MUNAR SURFACE, BEHIND THE MUNSHOT-2 AND MUNA EARLIER THIS YEAR. WITH THE SUPERPOWERS OF KERBIN PREPARING TO ESTABLISH THEIR OWN RESPECTIVE OUTPOSTS ONTO THE MUN, THE NEWS OF A THIRD LANDING COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WELCOME. UNTIL A TROUBLING REPORT WAS MADE. MUNAR SURFACE "UNSUITABLE" FOR BASE, CLAIMS SPACE AGENCY ACCORDING TO REPORTS BY THE SPACE CENTER, THE MUNSHOT-3 SUFFERED ISSUES WITH IT'S LANDING GEAR "SKIDDING" ON THE MUN. "THE MUNAR REGOLITH APPARENTLY HAS LOW SURFACE VISCOSITY, MUCH LIKE SOAP", EXPLAINED DR. LINUS KERMAN, THE PLANETARY SCIENCE DIRECTOR OF THE ARA, "THIS LEADS TO THE LANDING GEAR BEING UNABLE TO HOLD ITSELF DOWN ON THE SURFACE". TRANSCRIPTS FROM THE AGENCY ALSO REVEALED THE ISSUE WAS OBSERVED WITH THE MUNSHOT-2, BECOMING SO SEVERE THAT JEBEDIAH KERMAN STARTED THE ASCENT PROFILE ONE HOUR EARLY. THE ADDED CHALLENGE OF HAVING TO DEAL WITH A LACK OF FRICTION ON THE MUNAR SURFACE WILL FURTHER COMPLICATE THE SPACE AGENCY'S PLANS TO ESTABLISH AN OUTPOST ON THE MUN, AND POSSIBLY CAUSE IT'S CANCELLATION. HOWEVER, THE AGENCY HAS DECIDED TO REMAIN OPTIMISTIC OF FINDING A SUITABLE LOCATION FOR A MUNAR BASE, ANNOUNCING THEY WILL LAUNCH THE REMAINING MUNSHOT-4, MUNSHOT-5, AND MUNSHOT-6 AS PLANNED. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1959, Month 12, Day 2 ~ THE SUN SETS ON JUPITER: IS THIS THE END FOR THE SPACE STATION? WRITTEN BY DOLING KERMAN ABOVE: THE JUPITER IN ORBIT OF KERBIN. NOW UNMANNED, THE SPACE AGENCY HAS DECIDED TO MOTHBALL OR TERMINATE THE SPACE STATION. KERMAN SPACE CENTER - THE END OF IS APPROACHING FOR JUPITER. THE TWO YEAR OLD SPACE STATION, NOW A RELIC OF THE PRE-MUNSHOT ERA, "IS SET TO BE DECOMMISSIONED BY THE END OF THIS YEAR", ACCORDING TO SPACE AGENCY SOURCES. THE JUPITER, THE FIRST SPACE STATION IN KERBAL HISTORY, ONLY SAW ONE FLIGHT - THE GENESIS-4, WHICH STAYED FOR A YEAR AND RETURNED TO KERBIN LAST MONTH, SETTING A RECORD FOR THE LONGEST PERIOD OF TIME A KERBAL HAS CONTINUOUSLY STAYED IN SPACE. THE REMAINING MISSIONS TO JUPITER, THE GENESIS-6, 7, AND 8, WERE CANCELLED TO DIVERT FUNDING TO "MORE URGENT NEEDS", SAID WERNHER VON KERMAN, THE TOP CHIEF OF THE SPACE PROGRAM. SAVING THE SKY GOD THE NEWS OF JUPITER'S DEMISE HAS BEEN EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL, WITH PROMINENT MEMBERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE DEBATE. "WHAT? DEORBIT JUPITER? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?", SAID SENATOR SAMDEN KERMAN SR. "WE PAID √100,000 FOR THAT STATION. DEORBITING IT IS AN ACT OF IRRESPONSIBILITY ON BEHALF OF THE SPACE PROGRAM", HE ADDED. "DECOMMISSION DOESN'T MEAN DEORBIT", RESPONDED DIRECTOR WALTER KERMAN OF THE SPACE AGENCY'S PUBLIC RELATIONS CENTER. "WE CAN JUST MOVE IT TO A ORBIT WHERE IT WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH ORBITAL OPERATIONS AND KEEP IT THERE AS A MUSUEMPIECE FOR THE KERBALS OF THE FUTURE. IT'S A IMPORTANT HISTORICAL MILESTONE." THE MAIN ARGUMENT BEHIND THE DECOMMISSIONING OF THE JUPITER IS TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE SATURN, A SPACE STATION PROPOSED BY JEBEDIAH'S JUNKYARD AND SPACESHIP PARTS COMPANY AS WELL AS SEAN'S CANNERY. THE SATURN WILL USE THE 2.5-METERE HABITATION MODULES COMPARED TO THE JUPITER'S 1.25-METERE HABITATS, AS WELL AS USE STATE-OF-THE-ART COOLING SYSTEMS AND SOLAR PANELS, ALLOWING AS MUCH AS TWENTY KERBALS TO STAY ONBOARD THE STATION. THIS HASN'T CONVINCED EVERYONE. "I KNOW THE REDS ARE COMPETING AGAINST US BUT THIS IS JUST MADNESS", SAID BILLY-BOBFRED KERMAN, A HONEST FARMER ON THE STREET. "WE'RE GETTING RID OF A STATION STILL WORKS SO WE CAN LAUNCH A BRAND NEW SHINY ONE THAT'LL COST US MORE MONEY THAN EVER BEFORE." ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Strike Back ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1959, Month 2, Day 3 ~ THE PROVINCES STRIKE BACK: MUNSHOT-2 LANDING A SUCCESS, SPACE AGENCY SAYS WRITTEN BY ELDING KERMAN ABOVE: THE UNITED PROVINCIAL SPACESHIP MUNSHOT-2 LANDED ON ANOTHER WORLD TODAY KERMAN SPACE CENTER - UNFAZED BY THE KOMMUNIST MUNAR LANDING SEVERAL WEEKS PRIOR, TODAY THE CREW OF THE MUNSHOT-2 PILOTED THEIR CRAFT TO THE SURFACE OF THE MUN IN ONE OF THE GREATEST FEATS OF KERBAL HISTORY. DR. NEET KERMAN, A FATHER OF TWO, AND COMMANDER JEBEDIAH KERMAN, A VETERAN FIGHTER PILOT TURNED KERBONAUT, MADE HISTORY AS THEY WALKED, HOPPED, AND WORKED IN THE POWERED REGOLITH OF THE MUNAR HIGHLANDS BEFORE LIFTING OFF INTO ORBIT THREE HOURS LATER. THE MUNSHOT-2 WILL RETURN TO KERBIN TOMORROW, IT'S CREW GIVEN A WELL-EARNED REST FROM THEIR FOUR DAY LONG ORDEAL. SPACE PROGRAM DEVELOPING LONG TERM GOALS THE SUDDEN LANDING OF THE KOMMUNIST MUNA-1 ONTO THE MUN LAST MONTH SENT SHOCKWAVES THROUGHOUT THE POLITICAL WORLD, LEADING PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN TO ANNOUNCE A GOAL OF A "KERBAL ON DUNA BY 1970" IN A SPEECH THAT WAS TELEVISED TO THE WORLD. DIRECTOR WERNHER VON KERMAN OF THE ARA BACKED THESE GOALS LAST MONTH, BUT TODAY, HE EXPRESSED SOME RESERVATIONS ABOUT THEM. "WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO TO DUNA", HE SAID TO REPORTERS. "WE HAVE NO INFORMATION ABOUT THAT PLANET. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE. WE NEED TO SEND PROBES BEFORE A MANNED MISSION". AFTER A REPORTER SUGGESTED THE POSSIBILITY OF A MANNED MISSION TO EVE, WERNHER SHRUGGED. "EVE IS A WILDCARD. IT'S CLOUDS COVER EVERYTHING. IT MAY BE A PARADISE HIDDEN BEHIND THEM. OR LITERAL HELL. WE DON'T KNOW YET - AND THAT'S MY JOB. TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW". ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ [TAPE BEGINS, DATED 6/18/59] PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "I NEED TO GET ON THE SAME PAGE AS THE A.R.A. IS THE ARES PROGRAM - DO YOU THINK IT IS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY PROGRAM YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW?" WERNHER: "NO, MR. PRESIDENT, I DO NOT. WE'VE ALREADY LANDED ON THE MUN, THERE IS NO NEED TO CONTINUE LANDING ON IT. OUR FUNDS ARE LIMITED, SIR, AND I'M BUSY PUSHING A PROBE TO DUNA. IT IS A TOP PRIORITY, CERTAINLY, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE HERE, THAT WE NEED TO BEGIN THE GRAND TOUR PROBE PROGRAM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AS WELL AS DEVELOPMENT OF THE NOVA-CLASS LAUNCHER AND THE KERSAT NETWORK. THERE ARE MANY THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH A ROCKET, AND OUR TECHNOLOGY IS YEARS AHEAD OF ANYTHING THE UNION CAN FIELD, I ASSURE YOU, MR. PRESIDENT" PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "WERNHER, I THINK I'VE MADE MYSELF VERY CLEAR. THE SPACE PROGRAM [SIC] HAS PRIORITIES IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AS WELL AS SCIENCE. SCIENCE IS AN AFTERTHOUGHT - WE CAN'T COME IN SECOND TO DUNA RIGHT NOW. WE CAME IN SECOND TO THE MUN. IT DIDN'T MATTER THAT THE KOMMUNISTS BEAT US BY LESS THAN A MONTH ON WHAT COULD BARELY BE CALLED A "SPACECRAFT". HELL, IF OUR MUNSHOT WAS A SHIP, THE KOMMUNISTS WENT TO THE MUN ON DRIFTWOOD. IT DOESN'T MATTER TO THE PUBLIC THAT OUR ROCKETS ARE YEARS AHEAD OF THE BEST KOMMUNIST ROCKET. THEY SEE A KOMMUNIST HIT THE MUN BEFORE US, THEY THINK WE'VE FALLEN BEHIND. WE LOST THE MUN RACE. THIS IS VERY SERIOUS, WERNHER. WE CAN'T LOSE DUNA. THE OTHER PROGRAMS; THEY CAN WAIT." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "THE JOOL PROBE AND THE EVE LANDER AND THE MOHO FLYBY PROBE ARE DESIRABLE, BUT THEY CAN WAIT. OUR FIRST PRIORITY IS THE KERBAL SPACEFLIGHT PROGRAM." WERNHER: "NO, MR. PRESIDENT, I'M NOT SAYING THESE ARE THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. HOWEVER, THEY ARE IMPORTANT SINCE WE NEED TO KNOW THE ENVIRONMENT [SIC] THAT THE MISSION TO DUNA IS GOING INTO. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT." DR. LINUS KERMAN: "WITHOUT THE SCIENCE, I'M AFRAID, THE CHANCES OF THIS MISSION BEING SUCCESS IS NIL. IMAGINE THE PRESS IT WOULD GENERATE IF OUR DUNA MISSION FAILED. WE NEED A PRECURSOR MISSION AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND [SIC] THE DYNAMICS BEHIND INTERPLANETARY SPACE." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "WHAT'S THE PLAN THEN?" WERNHER: "ROCKOMAX PHONED THIS MORNING AND TOLD US THAT THEY CAN DELIVER THE FIRST NOVA BY NEXT WEEK. EVERYTHING AFTER THAT IS A MATTER OF TIMING, I'M AFRAID. I'LL PROPOSE THIS TIMEFRAME: WE CAN GET A STATION AROUND THE MUN, CALL IT, SAY, MUNLAB." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "SO THE KERBAL SPACEFLIGHT PROGRAM IS THE PRIORITY?" WERNHER: "AS OF THE CURRENT, IT SHARES PRIORITY WITH THE PLANETARY PROBE PROGRAM, AS OF CURRENT." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "WHAT MISSIONS ARE IN THE PLANETARY PROGRAM RIGHT NOW?" WERNHER: "ORBITER AND LANDER TO EVE, FLYBY'S OF MOHO AND DRES, ORBITER AND LANDER TO DUNA, ORBITER TO JOOL AND LANDER TO LAYTHE. SUNDIVING PROBE AS WELL." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "CANCEL THE DRES PROBE. HALF THE POPULATION DOESN'T KNOW IT EXISTS ANYWAY. COULD YOU DOWNSCALE THE MOHO PROBE AND CANCEL THE EVE ORBITER; A LANDER WILL BE ENOUGH. PRIORITIZE THE DUNA PROBES HERE. WHAT ABOUT KERBIN ORBIT?" WERNHER: "WE'VE GOT A NEW 2.5M HABITAT DESIGNED. WE'RE THINKING ABOUT PHASING OUT JUPITER AND REPLACING IT WITH SPACE STATION SATURN. THE PLAN IS TO GET IT OPERATIONAL BY 1961. ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THE PLANETARY PROBES, SIR?" PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "THEY CAN WAIT A COUPLE MONTHS. THE PRIORITY HERE IS THE DUNA MISSION AND THE, UH, MUNLAB AND SATURN." WERNHER: [UNCLEAR] DR. MORTIMER KERMAN: [UNCLEAR] "THE THING IS WE'RE IN DESPERATE NEED OF A NEW LAUNCHER. THE NOVA-CLASS WILL FULFILL OUR NEED FOR IT. I RECOMMEND STARTING MASS PRODUCTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. ECONOMICS OF SCALE WILL DO THE REST OF THE WORK AND LOWER THE PRICE TO ORBIT BY A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "THE ISSUE IS THAT THE PUBLIC, THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT SCIENCE. THEY WANT A KERBAL ON DUNA. THAT'S WHAT THEY SEE." WERNHER: "I'M NOT VERY SURE ABOUT A MANNED MISSION TO DUNA BEING THE RIGHT CHOICE RIGHT NOW. YOU'RE GENERATING A GREAT INTELLECTUAL MOVEMENT IN ALL THE UNIVERSITIES OF THIS COUNTRY, AND THERE'S THOUSANDS OF KERBALS NOW WANTING TO BECOME KERBONAUTS AND ENGINEERS AND THEY CARE ABOUT SCIENCE, AND THEY VOTE AS WELL. THEY DON'T THINK THAT KERBAL SPACEFLIGHT IS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY, THEY WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE LAWS OF NATURE AND THE DYNAMICS THAT INFLUENCE SPACE AND THE PLANETS. DR. LINUS AND I OUGHT TO TALK ABOUT THE PROGRAM - BUT I THINK THAT CUTTING THE MOHO FLYBY AND THE DRES FLYBY AND GUTTING THE REST OF THE PROGRAMS SAVE DUNA AND KERBAL SPACEFLIGHT IS A HUGE MISTAKE." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "YES, AND I CAN AGREE WE'RE ALL VERY INTERESTED IN THIS, BUT THESE PROGRAMS CAN WAIT A YEAR OR A COUPLE MONTHS. PUSH IT FROM 1962 TO 1963. DUNA MUST BE OUR PRIORITY. THIS IS A RACE, AND THE U.S.R KNOWS THAT. WE CANNOT LOSE THIS RACE." WERNHER: "THE LAUNCH WINDOW TO JOOL AND DRES WILL BE OVER BY THEN." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "THEN WE WAIT." DR. LINUS KERMAN: "WE DON'T KNOW A THING ABOUT DUNA RIGHT NOW, MR. PRESIDENT. I STRONGLY SUGGEST INVESTING INTO THE MUN BEFORE WE LIFT A FINGER ABOUT A MANNED MISSION TO DUNA BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE. WE NEED TO RUSH THE PROBES THERE." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: "AND I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT. BUT THE SCIENCE CAN TAKE A BACK SEAT FOR NOW.WHAT ARE THE COST ESTIMATES?" DR. MORTIMER KERMAN: "√250,000 FOR MUNLAB, ANOTHER √550,000 FOR THE OUTPOST, AND √500,000 FOR SATURN, TO BE SAFE. THE SPACE PROGRAM CAN'T LET COSTS RUN RAMPANT. I'LL ALSO TOSS IN √1,000,000, BALLPARK FIGURE, FOR THE DUNA MISSION. IT'S AROUND √75,000 RIGHT NOW PER MUNSHOT MISSION. I RECOMMEND FUNDING THESE PROGRAMS TO THE FULLEST. FOR THE PLANETARY PROBE PROGRAM, I'M GUESSING √60,000 PER FLYBY PROBE, √100,000 IF IT'S A LANDER, √80,000 FOR AN ORBITER." PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN: [UNCLEAR]"WELL COST-SAVING IS A CENTRAL TENET OF MY ADMINISTRATION AND I AM DETERMINED TO MAINTAIN THAT. HOWEVER THE [UNCLEAR] IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE OF SPACEFLIGHT, AND I'M VERY GLAD ABOUT THAT. YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR NATION HAVE BEEN MANY, WERNHER. I WILL CONTACT YOU IN SIX MONTHS WITH THE FISCAL BUDGET FOR 1960, AND WE'LL DISCUSS THE FATE OF THE PLANETARY PROBE PROGRAM THEN." WERNHER: "THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, MR. PRESIDENT." DR. MORTIMER KERMAN: "THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT." DR. LINUS KERMAN: "THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT." [TAPE END: 11 MINUTES, 23 SECONDS] ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

1. The manuscript that the second picture was obtained from originated in Western Europe, IIRC. Not really a good source as to "Byzantine Art". 2. They were called Roman by their contemporaries. Also, the Roman aristocracy spoke Greek in place of Latin long before the official switch by Heraclitus. Were the Roman aristocracy, by extension, therefore "not Roman"? 3. Their culture did not devolve. For much of it's history until the very end (When it became necessary), the Empire was very centralized and cultured compared to it's western neighbors (Emperor Michael II Palaiologos, an aristocrat and general at heart, later switched the Empire to a more feudal model in 1260, if that's what you're talking about). The city of Constantinople had a greater population than any other city in Europe all the way up to 1204, before making a recovery in 1261 after it's recovery by the Nicaeans. The Byzantines had a higher literacy rate than the western kingdoms, and they ate with forks and spoons, something that completely baffled the Crusader lords when they arrived in Constantinople. The standard of living in the Byzantine Empire was also higher, and unlike the other European militaries of the time, it had a standing army assisted by it's own governmental bureaucracy, something that it maintained from the Roman era. Also, stating that a culture "devolved" isn't really a good way to put it. Whether or not the Byzantine Empire was Roman is completely an argument of other you trust the cultural changes in the Empire or whether you trust the political changes. Culturally, it was different from the old Roman Empire. Politically, it was not.

The Roman Empire by 476 was Roman in name only. The economical, cultural, and political center of the Empire was clearly at Constantinople and had been after the third century. Yet we have no problem with still calling it the "Roman Empire", and Constantine the "Roman Emperor". Also, the term "Byzantine" did not come into use until much after the Romans had fallen. To the Turks and the Europeans, the Byzantines were the "Romans" - when the Turks conquered Anatolia from the Byzantines, they formed the "Sultanate of Rum", or literally, the "Sultan of Rome". The Europeans, on the other hand, had to balance the political interests of aligning with the Byzantine Empire (Which was a extremely powerful and centralized force in the Balkans and Eastern Europe for much of the Middle Ages) or the Holy Roman Empire, came into the habit of calling the Byzantine Empire "Romania", or the "Empire of Romania". Since the Byzantines called them Basileia ton Rhomaion (Empire of the Romans), "Romania" and "Rhomaion" were acceptable interchanges. In several letters to the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos during the 1100's, the Pope (From Rome) addresses Manuel as "Emperor of Romania". When Muhammad wrote a letter to Heraclitus during the early years of Islam, he refers to him as the "powerful Emperor of the Romans". When Mehmed II, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, fought the heavily reduced Byzantine Empire in 1453, he referred to them also as the "Empire of the Romans" and Constantine XII as the "Emperor of the Romans", even though he had nothing but a now-impoverished city and some nominally loyal vassals in the Peloponnese. The Byzantines themselves prided themselves on their "Roman heritage". In the Alexiad, written from the point of view of the daughter of Alexios I during the First Crusade, multiple references are made to Roman history in which she refers to them in a patriotic tone. The Byzantines definitely saw themselves as more "Roman" than Greek, and if anything, saw the term "Hellene" as a insult for much of their history, since the term "Hellene" meant Pagan and they took their faith in Christ seriously. The burn-the-heretic seriously. The Byzantine Empire was Roman since it was a direct political continuation of the Roman Empire and continued to be referred to as such by it's contemporaries, all of which had a reason to challenge it's Roman heritage. They saw themselves as Roman, not Greek. Contemporary documents refer to them as "Roman". Their nobility knew the history of the Roman Empire as their own. The idea of them being a "Greek" or "Byzantine" Empire is a modern invention. How else would they not be Roman? Also, no, a unified Roman Empire would not have become spacefaring by 1100AD. The Medieval Ages, contrary to popular belief, were not a time when technological progress completely stagnated - this whole idea only happened during the "Enlightenment" when people tried to distance themselves from the past of Christianity. I believe a better bet is an early industrial revolution in the Southern Song Dynasty around 1100AD that could lead to a spacefaring status by 1800AD or 1900AD, but no earlier. The Southern Song had hydropower dams, steel production that would not be seen until 19th century Britain, large ocean going ships, a blue-water navy, a relatively high literacy rate for the time, heavy urbanization, a need to recover the lands that had been conquered by the Manchu Jin Dynasty to the north, and an ever-increasing population density, all of the factors which helped to trigger the Industrial Revolution.

Personally, I'm not so sure about the USR beating the United Provinces to the Mun being a good idea. It sort of sets me into an awkward position since I didn't provide enough buildup to this happening and the idea is pretty unconventional, but it opens up the idea of a "alternate Space Race" that I've always wondered about. I'll see how everyone reacts to it, and replace/delete it accordingly.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: To The Mun ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1958, Month 11, Day 13 ~ MUNSHOT-1 ENTERS ORBIT OF THE MUN: BOB KERMAN FIRST KERBAL TO PERFORM SPACEWALK BEYOND KERBIN. WRITTEN BY DOLING KERMAN ABOVE: IN THIS STUNNING PICTURE RELEASED BY THE A.R.A SHOWS THE MUNSHOT-1 IN LOW MUNAR ORBIT WITH KERBIN IN THE BACKGROUND. KERMAN SPACE CENTER - THE DARING EXPLORERS OF MUNSHOT-1 SLID INTO AN INCREDIBLE ORBIT OF THE MUN YESTERDAY, REPORTED THE SPACE AGENCY. THE CREW PERFORMED A STUNNING SPACEWALK IN MUNAR ORBIT THAT LASTED FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AS WELL AS BROADCASTING BACK TO KERBIN PICTURES OF A BARREN AND STARTLINGLY ALIEN LANDSCAPE. LIEUTENANT COMMANDER JEBEDIAH KERMAN, UPN, AND CAPITAN BOB KERMAN, UPAF, ENTERED THE ANNALS OF HISTORY 2:30 CENTRAL TIME YESTERDAY AS THE FIRST KERBALS TO TRULY LEAVE KERBIN. AS THEIR INTREPID SPACECRAFT, THE MUNSHOT-1, HURTLED ACROSS THE MUNAR SURFACE, THEY SAW WHAT NO KERBAL EYE HAS SEEN BEFORE: THE POCKMARKED FAR SIDE OF THE MUN. IT WAS AKIN TO THE FIRST KERBALS CROSSING THE SEAS OF KERBIN - IT WAS THE SPIRIT OF FRONTIERSMANSHIP, THE LOVE OF ADVENTURE, AND THE PRODUCT OF THE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF KERBAL CIVILIZATION REACHING NEW HEIGHTS WRAPPED UP INTO ONE PACKAGE. AS THEY FLEW ACROSS THE SURFACE, THEY MADE ONE TWO-HOUR LONG LIVE TELEVISED BROADCAST TO THE ENTIRE WORLD DURING WHICH THEY TOOK QUESTIONS FROM STUDENTS AND CONDUCTED EXPERIMENTS FOR ALL TO SEE. THE TWO KERBONAUTS WILL SPEND THE NEXT THREE DAYS IN MUNAR ORBIT, CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS AS WELL AS MAPPING OUT THE FAR SIDE OF THE MUN. AFTER THAT, THEY WILL FIRE THEIR ENGINE TO LEAVE THE ORBIT OF THE MUN AND RETURN TO THEIR HOME PLANET, KERBIN, SAFE AND SOUND, AIMING TO SPLASHDOWN INTO THE SEA NEXT SUNDAY EVENING. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1959, Month 1, Day 9 ~ THE KOMMUNISTS HAVE LANDED ON THE MUN: USR VICTOR IN "SPACE RACE", "WE WILL GO TO DUNA BY 1970", SAYS PRESIDENT. WRITTEN BY WALTER KERMAN ABOVE: THIRTY HOURS AGO, THE MUNA-1 LANDER LANDED ONTO THE MUNAR SURFACE, MARKING A SOLID KOMMUNIST VICTORY IN THE "SPACE RACE". THE CAPITOL - THE UNION OF SOCIALIST REPUBLICS HAS CLAIMED VICTORY OVER THE UNITED PROVINCES IN THE "RACE TO THE MUN" TODAY BY LAUNCHING KERBALKIND'S FIRST MUNAR-LANDING MISSION, AND A TRIUMPHANT BROADCAST FROM THE KREMLIN HAILED THE VICTORY AS THE "FIRST OF MANY STEPS" TOWARDS A KOMMUNIST OUTPOST ON THE MUN. THE SPACE AGENCY CONFIRMED THE LANDING TODAY THROUGH THEIR GLOBAL TRACKING STATIONS, ISSUING A SOBER STATEMENT THAT THEY "APPLAUD THE U.S.R FOR THEIR PROGRESS IN FURTHERING INTERPLANETARY SPACEFLIGHT". A PUBLIC OUTCRY HAS ARISEN IN THE UNITED PROVINCES, WITH WIDESPREAD FEAR OF A KOMMUNIST BASE ON THE MUN THAT COULD STRIKE AT THE UNITED PROVINCES WITHOUT FEAR OF RETALIATION - A STARK CONTRAST FROM THE JOVIAL MOOD TWO MONTHS AGO, AS THE MUNSHOT CREW WAS TREATED TO PARADES AFTER THEIR RETURN TO KERBIN. ADDRESSING A MASSIVE CROWD OF SPECTATORS ON THE STEPS OF THE CAPITOL TODAY, PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN ANNOUNCED BOLDLY, "THIS IS NOT THE END. WE WILL GO TO DUNA BY 1970, NOT BECAUSE IT IS EASY, BUT BECAUSE IT IS HARD. WE WILL PROVE TO THE WORLD OUR INDUSTRIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL MIGHT: BUT MOST OF ALL, WE WILL ENDEAVOR TO ENSURE THE SURVIVAL OF DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD." SPACE AGENCY "SHOCKED" THAT THE REDS BEAT THEM THE LANDING OF THE MUNA HAS SENT SHOCKWAVES THROUGH THE GOVERNMENT. THE SPACE AGENCY HAD MISTAKENLY BELIEVED THAT THE REDS WERE NOWHERE NEAR TO ACCOMPLISHING A MUNAR LANDING - THE SUDDEN ANNOUNCEMENT WAS "A FAILURE OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE". KIRRIM KERMAN, THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, HAS RESIGNED OVER THE SCANDAL CAUSED BY THE MUNA, WHILE ALL WERNHER VON KERMAN HAD TO SAY WAS "I SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT ON THIS. WE WILL GO TO DUNA - THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE." ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Reconnaissance Operations ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ Fifteen hundred kilometers into the heart of the greatest continent Kerbin lies a mountain range that is unrivaled in it's height or scale anywhere else on the planet. From its sharp ice-covered peaks to the valleys carved out by prehistoric glaciers, the range was an awe-inspiring sight. And for the Union of Socialist Republics, it was their western border, a front to which they would fight the United Provinces if they invaded. And so they prepared for war. Along the entire length of the border were radar installations, airbases, and minefields. If one was lucky, they would happen upon the occasional missile silo - or unlucky when one considers the vigilance of the guards, for that matter. From orbit, one could see a series small metallic flare on the mountains when the sun was at the right angle. Each flare was a military installation built into the stone itself. Each one was constantly on alert, and when the time came, each one would release upon Kerbin total nuclear armageddon. The barracks of Mikhaeleyev Airfield were all full with the influx of officer cadets, churned out in a steady stream by the military academies of the Union. As one of the more prominent officers at Mikhaeleyev Airfield, Colonel Kudrin was afforded some luxuries - a small stateroom with a bed, some furniture, and his very own radio. But as the head instructor for "Radar Officers", he spent very little time in it. Instead, he had what he called his "second home" - the radar control room for Mikhaeleyev, some three kilometers from that main airfield, accessible by a winding dirt road and a system of tunnels that snaked along the sides of the Mount Ishtar. From here, he had at his fingertips one of the largest and most impressive radar arrays in all of the Union. Sixteen great dishes scanned the sky, their antennas supported by some of the most advanced computers on all of Kerbin. Truly a marvel of modern engineering, Kudrin thought. Or at least he had. Six months of monotonic classes and having to deal with the young and immature cadets had worn off the novelty of mountaineering life. Kudrin had brought with him to the shift a newspaper and his private coffee maker. The coffee maker in the officer's wardroom was broken - besides, it was bitter and weak. Kudrin liked his coffee sweet and strong. "Like his women", a cadet had joked, until he saw the paddle on his desk. That was three weeks ago and the cadet still winced while sitting down. Flipping to the front page of the newspaper, Kudrin started to read. SPACE STATION JUPITER RECIEVES FIRST CREW, UNITED PROVINCES NOW HAS PERMANENT PRESENCE IN SPACE. He frowned. What use is a space station, and why is the United Provinces frolicking around in space?, was his first thought. The United Provinces may own the stars, but the Union shall inherit the Kerbin, was his second. There was a blip. Kudrin lazily looked over at the screen. On the lower right corner was a small dot, slowly making it's way across. Kudrin blinked, expecting the dot to go away. Oh great, now not only I'm bored, I'm hallucinating. The dot stayed. He leaned forth on the screen, reading it's telemetry. Altitude 77KM. Distance 102KM and closing. Velocity estimated to be 2,172 meters per second. Heading west. "Lieutenant!", he called, to noone in particular. But there was only one Lieutenant in the entire radar station, so only one Kerbal to answer to his demands. "Sir!" Boris came running. The Colonel was prone to anger issues, and he, the hapless adjutant, was often on the receiving end of it. As he entered the control room, he felt his heart drop as he saw his commander. "Call the Kremlin. I want to know if there are any spacecraft around our location with these parameters." Kudrin looked back towards the screen. The dot was maintaining it's constant motion, it's altitude increasing. Even if I launch the ground to air interceptors, they wouldn't able to reach it in time. He turned towards the Lieutenant. Boris saluted, and scurried off to the phone lines. Turning his attention back to the radar, Kudrin felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. He wiped it away, knowing all too well what the craft was doing. Exactly seventy-seven kilometers above Mikhaeleyev Airfield, the Genesis-5 orbited Kerbin. Felix Kerman grabbed the handlebar inside the cylindrical main cabin, hooking his feet onto the open cabinet. Behind him, Nemie sat at the controls of a strange machine, feeding into it a black film. Felix looked out at the mountain range beneath him, oblivious to the panicked response of the Colonel. He didn't care. At this altitude and speed, the Genesis-5 was all but invincible to the missile interceptors of the USR. "How much longer do we have left?", he asked. Nemie was a scientist by profession, and his development of the high-definition imaging camera was what earned him a position on the flight roster. He shrugged - or tried to, while operating the machine. "Another five minutes. The Air Force explicitly stated they wanted the camera to be tested here in a separate flight, I dunno why. Probably some bureaucratic bull excrement. I wouldn't mind seeing Jupiter myself. After I wrap this up, you'll fire the boosters for the retrograde burn, and we'll be back home in an hour, just in time for dinner." Felix nodded. Beyond his small capsule, Kerbin expanded out into a circular plane, with glowing white edges that faded into the blackness of space. Taking one last look at the ice-covered peaks of the mountains, he strapped himself into the flight seat at the front of the Genesis, letting the hum of the life-support system pull him into sleep. Now one hundred and ten kilometers below him, Colonel Kundrin received the news from Boris that, indeed, there was no Union spacecraft with these orbital parameters. And now one hundred and twenty kilometers below him, Kundrin had begun to berate Boris, before punching an unfortunate Major who attempted to intervene. As the Genesis-5 left the radar screen, so did the Colonel - not of his will; but instead by four soldiers, kicking and screaming as he went. The Genesis-5 moved forth, indifferent to the arguably hilarious scene taking place below it. An hour later, just as Nermie said, Felix fired the retrorockets and the craft parachuted into the blue sky of Kerbin, with nothing but microscopic debris to mark where it had once circled the planet. Kundrin's mystery spacecraft had disappeared from the radar forever. Nermie watched the ground grow closer to her window as the capsule fell through the clouds. Bored, she opened the first canister and began to examine her film. In one of the shots of the mountain, just off the center, was a small metallic flare. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1958, Month 3, Day 5 ~ SOCRATES-2 HAS LANDED: SCENE IS "INCREDIBLE" WRITTEN BY WALTER KERMAN KERMAN SPACE CENTER - ANOTHER FIRST WAS SCORED FOR KERBALKIND TODAY AS THE SOCRATES-2 LANDER PERFORMED A SOFT TOUCHDOWN ONTO THE SURFACE OF MINMUS, THE DISTANT MOON OF KERBIN. AT AROUND 15:33 CENTRAL TIME, THE CRAFT DESCENDED TO THE FROZEN SURFACE THROUGH IT'S MAIN ENGINES: CONFIRMATION OF LANDING WAS RECEIVED AT 15:35 CENTRAL TIME. THE COMPLEX MATERIALS SCIENCE LABORATORY ONBOARD THE SOCRATES-2 HAS DEPLOYED, AS WELL AS A VARIETY OF OTHER EXPERIMENTS AND MEASUREMENTS. DR. LINUS KERMAN, THE FLIGHT DIRECTOR OF THE SOCRATES, SPOKE TO REPORTERS YESTERDAY AT THE "GATE OF THE UNIVERSE", THE FAMED ENTRANCE TO THE SPACECRAFT ASSEMBLY COMPLEX AT KSC. "THE SOCRATES MISSION IS THE FIRST OF IT'S KIND, AND THE RESULTS FROM IT ARE SURPRISING", HE STATED IN A PRESS CONFERENCE. "MINMUS APPARENTLY IS NOT MADE OF MINT ICE CREAM", HE ADDED. "THE RESULTS FROM THE SOCRATES HAVE DISPELLED THAT NOTION." AS OF THE MOMENT OF PUBLICATION, "MINMUS ICE-CREAM AND CO." HAS DECLARED CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY WHILE MASS PROTESTS HAVE BEEN STAGED IN THE STREETS OF MAJOR PROVINCIAL CITIES, CROWDS CLAMORING TO "MAKE MINMUS TASTY AGAIN". A STATE OF EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED OVER THE PROVINCES OF.... (SEE MORE ON PAGE 2A) THE END OF AN ERA, AND THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ONE. THE LANDING OF THE SOCRATES IS A MILESTONE FOR KERBALKIND AS IT SIGNIFIES THE END OF THE WILDLY SUCCESSFUL KERBIN-SYSTEM PROBE PROGRAM: THE NEXT STEP FOR THE SPACE AGENCY ARE MANNED EXPEDITIONS TO THE MUN AND INTERPLANETARY PROBE FLIGHTS TO A VARIETY OF DESTINATIONS, ESPECIALLY DUNA AND EVE. ALREADY, PRELIMINARY FUNDING HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR A SERIES OF DUNA PROBES THAT WILL LAND ONTO THE PLANET AS WELL AS ENTER ORBIT. IT IS HOPED THAT AS WAS THE CASE WITH MINMUS, THE SPACE AGENCY WILL ONCE AGAIN MAINTAIN THE LEAD OVER THE KOMMUNIST UNION IN THE PROBE RACE TO THE RED PLANET. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Docking And Spaceplanes ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1957, Month 6, Day 20 ~ GENESIS-4 SUCCESSFULLY DOCKS WITH STATION JUPITER, KERBAL NOW HAS PERMANENT PRESENCE IN SPACE ABOVE: THE GENESIS-4 DOCKED TO JUPITER OVER THE BERINGIA SEA PHOTO CREDIT: ASTRONAUTICS RESEARCH AGENCY WRITTEN BY WALTER KERMAN KERMAN SPACE CENTER - AT AROUND 3:59 CENTRAL TIME TODAY, THE GENESIS-4 CONFIRMED VISUAL CONTRACT WITH SPACE STATION JUPITER. TEN MINUTES LATER, THE CREW OF THE GENESIS-4, LOGER AND DR. HENWIN KERMAN BEGAN A NEW ERA IN KERBAL HISTORY WHEN THEY OPENED THE HATCH AND ENTERED SPACE STATION JUPITER. THE YEAR-LONG STAY OF THE CREW WILL KICKSTART THE FIRST TIME THAT SPACE HAS HAD A PERMANENT KERBAL PRESENCE, AS WELL AS PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED INSIGHT INTO KERBAL SPACEFLIGHT THAT IS CRUCIAL TO INTERPLANETARY MISSIONS TO THE MUN, MINMUS, OR DUNA. FOR THE REST OF THEIR DAY, THE CREW WILL TAKE PART IN A NATIONWIDE RADIO BROADCAST AS WELL AS WORK WITH MISSION SUPPORT TO BEGIN ROUTINE OPERATIONS ONBOARD THE STATION. A HOME AWAY FROM HOME ABOVE: THE INTERIOR OF JUPITER PHOTO CREDIT: ASTRONAUTICS RESEARCH AGENCY THE IDEA OF A SPACE STATION HAS IT'S ROOTS IN SCIENCE FICTION. RAY BROADBUSH KERMAN, A WELL-KNOWN WRITER, FIRST OPENED THE IDEA OF A SPACE STATION IN HIS NOVEL, THE TALES OF DISTANT DUNA, AS WELL AS A DYING WORLD. A SPACE STATION IS SIMPLE: IT'S GOAL IS TO SERVE AS A FREE-FLOATING OUTPOST IN SPACE. IT CAN SERVICE OUTBOUND SPACESHIPS AS WELL AS ACT AS A RESEARCH CENTER. THE JUPITER IS CAPABLE OF DOING JUST THAT. WITH DEDICATED ELECTRICAL AND LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEMS, THE STATION CAN SURVIVE FOR YEARS IN SPACE, A LASTING MONUMENT TO THE TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL MIGHT OF THE UNITED PROVINCES. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ REPORT TO SECRETARY KENFURT, DEPARTMENT OF WAR DATE: MONTH 8, DAY 3, 1957 SUBJECT: ON THE X-17 FROM: DIRECTOR OF SPACE OPERATIONS, ADAM KERMAN, OFFICE OF RECONNAISSANCE CLEARANCE: [TOP SECRET], [NEED TO KNOW ONLY] THERE ARE CURRENTLY TWO MAIN CONTRACTORS WORKING ON THE X-17 "IAEPUTUS". C7 AEROSPACE HAS BEEN CONTRACTED TO BUILD THE AIRFRAME OF THE X-17, WHILE ROCKOMAX CORPORATION HAS BEEN CONTRACTED BY THE FRANK ADMINISTRATION TO PROVIDE 12 ATLAS-CLASS ROCKETS, TO BE SPLIT EVENLY BETWEEN THE A.R.A AND THE AIR FORCE. √60,000 FUNDS HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO C7 AEROSPACE TO BUILD FIVE AIRFRAMES OF THE X-17: ONE HAS BEEN USED AS A DROP-TEST, ANOTHER TWO ARE TO BE USED AS BACKUP MODELS, AND THE LAST TWO WILL BE USED IN OPERATIONS - ONE OF WHICH HAS ALREADY FLOWN TO ORBIT. THIS HAS LED TO A COST OF AROUND √12,000 FUNDS PER UNIT. AT THIS RATE, WE WILL BE OVERBUDGET BY √30,000 FUNDS BY 1959, A SITUATION THAT CANNOT CONTINUE. THIS LEADS US TO ANOTHER DILEMMA. DR. MORTIMER KERMAN HAS INFORMED US THAT WITH THE A.R.A AIMING FOR A MUNAR EXPEDITION BY 1959, FOLLOWED BY A POSSIBLE BASE BY 1962, THEY ARE UNWILLING AND UNABLE TO CONTRIBUTE MUCH FUNDS TO THE IAEPUTUS PROGRAM. √58,000 FUNDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN INVESTED IN THE X-17 FROM THE A.R.A; THIS AMOUNT WILL PURCHASE THEM THREE TEST FLIGHTS WITH THE "X-17" ON THE CONDITION THAT THEY BE KEPT BOTH CONFIDENTIAL AND FLOWN BY UPAF PERSONNEL. X-17A HAS ALREADY FLOWN WITH THE A.R.A: THUS, THEY ARE AUTHORIZED TO ONLY TWO MORE FLIGHTS. FIG 1: X-17A ON THE LAUNCHPAD. WE HAVE DECIDED TO LET THE A.R.A HANDLE THE TEST FLIGHTS IN ORDER TO SAVE FUNDS. FIG 2: X-17 IN ORBIT, WITH SUNDALAND ISLAND IN THE FOREGROUND. PHOTO TAKEN BY 1ST LIEUTENANT SAMDEN KERMAN DURING AN EVA FIG 3: THE X-17 REENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE OF KERBIN. UNLIKE THE GENESIS, THE X-17 MUST REENTER THE ATMOSPHERE AT 45KM AT AN EXTREMELY HIGH ANGLE OF ATTACK TO AVOID TEMPERATURE DAMAGE: THE ONLY ADVANTAGE OVER THE GENESIS IS THE ILLUSION OF REUSABILITY AND IT'S ABILITY TO GLIDE. THIS LEADS US TO ANOTHER PROBLEM. USING THE X-17 IAEPUTUS IN PLACE OF THE ALREADY PROVEN GENESIS ROCKETS REQUIRES √20,000 MORE FUNDS PER LAUNCH: THE "SAVINGS" FROM REUSING THE X-17 ONLY AMOUNTS OF ABOUT √5,000 FUNDS. CLEARLY, WE HAVE PURCHASED THE X-17 FROM C7 FOR MUCH MORE THAN IT IS WORTH. C7 PROVIDES EACH AIRFRAME AT √12,000, YET IT IS WORTH √5,000. ANOTHER ISSUE HAS ARISEN FROM THE X-17. DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT HOLDS THREE CREWMEMBERS, EACH SEAT ON A X-17 COSTS APPROXIMATELY √20,000 FUNDS TO SEND A KERBAL TO ORBIT. ON THE GENESIS, THIS COST IS ONLY √17,500 FUNDS. NOT ONLY IS THE X-17 MORE EXPENSIVE THAT AN OLDER ROCKET, WE ARE PAYING MUCH MORE FOR IT THAN IT IS WORTH. NOT ONLY THAT, REPORTS BY TEST PILOTS HAVE RECORDED THE X-17 AS BEING DANGEROUS UNSTABLE, WHILE LIEUTENANT SAMDEN'S FLIGHT REPORT AFTER THE X-17A'S ORBITAL FLIGHT RECORDED THE CRAFT AS "A HAZARD DURING REENTRY, VERY HARD TO CONTROL" AS WELL AS "EXHIBITING TENDENCIES TO PERFORM MID-AIR STUNTS AT INAPPROPRIATE TIMES". NOT ONLY THAT, THE X-17 IS INCAPABLE OF LANDING ON WATER, AND MUST LAND ON LAND, OR RISK SEVERE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. X-17A, CURRENTLY, THE ONLY X-17 TO FLY TO ORBIT, PERFORMED THIS MISTAKE AND NOW THE CRAFT IS A TOTAL LOSS. THEREFORE, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD NOT BE UNREASONABLE FOR ME TO RECOMMEND THE CANCELLATION OR DOWNSIZING OF THE X-17 PROGRAM. THE X-17 IN IT'S CURRENT STATE IS EXPENSIVE AND DANGEROUS, AND LACKS THE FLEXIBLE RELIABILITY OF THE GENESIS ROCKET. SINCERELY, DIRECTOR OF SPACE OPERATIONS LT. COLONEL UPAF OFFICE OF RECONNAISSANCE ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Frontiers Expand ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ Fourteen days into it's mission, the probe Socrates-1 entered the gravitational influence of Minmus. Built off the successful design of the Artemis and Helios probes, the Socrates was an orbiter, much like her sisters. With her high-gain antenna, experiment modules, and material science bay, the craft weighed a total of 1.2 tons - her designers had every thought to save weight. In space, a pound saved on the payload was one hundred pounds saved of fuel; or so Wernher said. The numbers weren't exact. The craft had enough fuel to slow itself down into a stable orbit. It didn't have enough for much beyond that, nor did it need it. It was never built to return home. Now, as it neared it's target, it's antenna once again came to life, transmitting telemetry to Kerbin and receiving orders. It's computer was primitive, relying on vacuum tubes and a complex system of wheels. But it could follow orders just as well, and that was all the designers needed. As they didn't need it to come home, they didn't need it to think, either. Rotating the spacecraft's solar panels to take in the energy of the Sun, the craft began to run through a series of checklists. Before it could make it's final burn, everything had to be checked. There was no room for error. From here, Kerbin was the size of a grape, a small, blue-green grape upon which lived several billion sentient beings. The Mun was a tiny dust mote, a grey, unforgiving rocket that had already swallowed the Artemis-2 and the Munakhod-5, and hungered for more. Or so was the joke. At an height of 2,000 kilometers from the Minmusian surface, one could make out the most defining features of the moon, if they squinted enough. It looked like a grain of pollen, much like the moon of Pol near Jool, but it's bluish-green tint was reminiscent to many Kerbals eating ice-cream during a lazy Sunday afternoon, and the pock-marks on it's surface looked like seas. Or so it was believed, back in the older days when Kerbalkind had just developed telescopes, of a civilization on Minmus and thrived from it's many oceans. No matter the case, Minmus was a dead world now, and as the Socrates began it's slow descent, it seemed even deader. There was no atmosphere. No magnetic field. No activity. If there was a sea, it had died long, long ago, before this visitor from a strange world came. Three hours after entering the gravitational influence of Minmus, the main engine of the probe fired, slowing it's velocity into a stable orbit around the world. The separator bolts released, pushing the probe onwards in it's journey - the last booster stage, now spent, tumbled away into the night. Tentatively, it's material bay opened, exposing the contents within to the harshness of space. A turquoise glow illuminated the craft as it made it's closest approach around 17 kilometers from the frozen surface, it's sensors and cameras clicking away to madness. Flying away from the surface toward it's apogee of 55 kilometers, the Socrates's computer activated once more, rotating it's antenna towards Kerbin and it's solar panels toward the sun. Then in a flurry of activity, the antenna began to upload the information the probe had been gathering to the space center. Seconds later, on another world, Dr. Bobden Kerman saw his flight console light up as mit after mit of data arrived, ready to be dissected and analyzed by his team of researchers. Then once more, the Socrates orbiter fell dormant. It's mission was over, for now. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1957, Month 5, Day 11 ~ JUPITER SPACE STATION SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED INTO ORBIT: GENESIS-4 BEING READIED FOR LAUNCH, WILL FLY NEXT MONTH WRITTEN BY ELDING KERMAN ABOVE: SPACE STATION JUPITER IN ORBIT. PHOTO CREDIT: ASTRONAUTICS RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION KERMAN SPACE CENTER - THE SPACE AGENCY TODAY ANNOUNCED THE BEGINNING OF OPERATIONS ON SPACE STATION JUPITER, A PROGRAM WHICH HAS PROCEEDED FLAWLESSLY SO FAR WITH MINIMAL DELAY. NOW WITH ELECTRICAL AND LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEMS FULLY FUNCTIONAL, THE SPACE STATION AWAITS IT'S FIRST CREW, WHO WILL BE LAUNCHED ONBOARD THE GENESIS-4 NEXT MONTH IN CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL KEOPHYSICAL YEAR. THE 7.5 TON SPACE STATION, NAMED JUPITER AFTER THE ANCIENT PHYGASIAN GOD OF THE SKY, CAN SUPPORT A CREW OF SIX KERBALS FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. THE SPACE STATION WAS BUILT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNITED PROVINCIAL AIR FORCE, WHO HAS USED THE HABITAT MODULE PREVIOUSLY IN TESTING A NEW HYPERSONIC SPACEPLANE FOR THEMSELVES. IT IS IN A PERFECTLY EQUATORIAL ORBIT AROUND KERBIN WITH AN APOKEE OF 113KM AND A PERIKEE OF 109KM, TO ALLOW THE CREW OF THE STATION IMMEDIATE ESCAPE SHOULD THERE BE EMERGENCY. WHEN GENESIS-4 DOCKS WITH THE STATION NEXT MONTH, IT WILL BRING A CREW OF TWO: ACCORDING TO WERNHER VON KERMAN, "IT IS HOPED FOR AT LEAST A CREW OF TWO TO REMAIN IN SPACE PERMANENTLY FROM HERE ON OUT, AS A SIGN OF KERBALKIND'S ENTRY INTO THE AGE OF SPACEFLIGHT". "THE SYMBOL OF JUPITER IS ONE OF SCIENCE AND PEACE", SAID PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN IN A SPEECH TODAY. "THE IDEA OF KERBALS LEAVING THEIR WARLIKE TENDENCIES BEHIND ON KERBIN TO PURSUE A HIGHER CALLING OF KNOWLEDGE IN SPACE IS A NOBLE ONE, AND ONE THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN ENCOURAGING. OUR NATION HAS ALWAYS PRIDED ITSELF ON IT'S SPIRIT OF EXPLORATION - WE WERE BUILT FROM EXPLORERS WHO SAILED THE SEAS AND PIONEERS WHO TRAVELLED THE VAST CONTINENTS. TODAY, THEIR LEGACY IS CONTINUED IN JUPITER AND THE CREW OF THE GENESIS-4 WHEN THEY ARRIVE NEXT MONTH." OTHERS ARE NOT SO ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE STATION. "THIS WHOLE "SPACEFLIGHT" THING IS A TON OF EXCREMENT", EXCLAIMED BOB-ITAN KERMAN. "OUR NATIONAL DEBT IS MOUNTING AND THE ECONOMY HAS BEEN STAGNATING FOR THE LAST YEAR. WE DON'T NEED TO BURN OUR HARD-EARNED TAX DOLLARS ON SENDING A COUPLE KERBALS ONTO JOYRIDES TO OTHER PLANETS OR WHATEVER. TRUST ME! I'M A CITIZEN." BOB-ITAN THEN EXCUSED HIMSELF TO TUCK AWAY A USR MILITARY ID THAT HAD FALLEN OUT OF HIS POCKET BEFORE BEING TACKLED BY SEVERAL KERBALS IN SUITS AND SUNGLASSES. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT HIS WHEREABOUTS, PLEASE CALL 867-5309. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

It was a rescue mission to save a kerbonaut, since I needed one more victim test pilot and couldn't afford the hiring cost. Turns out, conspiracy theories are sometimes correct.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Artemis-3 And The Effects Of Longterm Spaceflight On The Kerbal ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1956, Month 3, Day 5 ~ ARTEMIS-3 SUCCESSFULLY LANDS ON MUNAR SURFACE, MUNAR PROBE PROGRAM NOW CONCLUDED WRITTEN BY NEDBOB KERMAN ABOVE: THE ARTEMIS-3 LANDED ON THE MUN TODAY AFTER A 36-HOUR JOURNEY FROM KERBIN. KERMAN SPACE CENTER - CHEERS OF EXUBERANT CONTROLLERS AND BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE WERE FOUND IN THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING MISSION SUPPORT COMPLEX TODAY AS THE ARTEMIS-3 SUCCESSFULLY LANDED ON THE MUN, COMPLETING THE MISSION OF IT'S ILL-FATED PREDECESSOR, THE ARTEMIS-2, WHICH CRASHED INTO THE MUNAR FAR SIDE LAST YEAR. AT AROUND 0932 CENTRAL TIME, THE SPACECRAFT SAFELY TOUCHED DOWN ONTO THE MUNAR SURFACE SOME 36-HOURS AFTER IT LIFTED OFF FROM KERMAN SPACE CENTER - WITH LESS THAN ONE LITER OF FUEL TO SPARE, THE LANDING WAS EXTREMELY CLOSE. "THE DATA FROM ARTEMIS-3 WILL BE EXTREMELY USEFUL TO ANY CONCEPT OF A MANNED EXPEDITION TO THE MUNAR SURFACE", DIRECTOR WERNHER STATED TODAY TO REPORTERS. "THE PROBE HAS ALREADY YIELDED SOME EXTREMELY INTERESTING FINDINGS. ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO DISPEL THE NOTION THAT THE MUN IS MADE OF CHEESE. IT'S MADE OF ROCKS AND DUST." STOCK IN DAIRY COMPANIES SUCH AS CRATER FARMS & POULTRY HAVE PLUMMETED TODAY AFTER THIS STATEMENT, AND SEVERAL CORPORATIONS HAVE ALREADY FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE SPACE PROGRAM FOR "DEFAMATION AND FINANCIAL DAMAGES CAUSED BY WERNER'S SLANDER". ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1956, Month 10, Day 29 ~ GENESIS-3 MISSION SUCCESSFUL, "WE ARE NOW READY TO DEVELOP A LONG TERM PRESENCE IN SPACE", SAYS HEAD CHIEF WRITTEN BY DOLING KERMAN ABOVE: THE GENESIS-3 SPACECRAFT IN ORBIT AROUND KERBIN. KERMAN SPACE CENTER - THE GENESIS-3, WHICH WAS LAUNCHED INTO ORBIT TWO WEEKS AGO, HAS RETURNED SAFELY TO EARTH, THE SPACE AGENCY CONFIRMS. BILL AND BOB KERMAN, THE TWO KERBONAUTS ON THE FLIGHT, PERFORMED LIFE-SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS IN ORBIT FOR TEN DAYS BEFORE FIRING THEIR RETROROCKETS AND RETURNING TO KERBIN, A FEAT OF ENDURANCE THAT IS UNPARALLELED BY ANY OTHER. FOR TEN DAYS THEY LIVED IN A CLOSED ENVIRONMENT ONBOARD THEIR MODIFIED GENESIS-3 SPACECRAFT, USING CO2 FILTERS, RECYCLED WATER, AND DRINKING THEIR RATIONS THROUGH A STRAW - TODAY, THEY ARE HOME ON KERBIN, SAFE AND SOUND AFTER THEIR ORDEAL. THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THEIR MISSION IS CRUCIAL TO THE SPACE PROGRAM'S GOALS OF ESTABLISHING A SPACE STATION IN ORBIT OF KERBIN BY NEXT YEAR, A GOAL THAT WAS SET IN 1953. NOW WITH THE CONFIRMATION THAT KERBALS CAN INDEED SURVIVE FOR OVER A WEEK IN SPACE, WHAT WAS ONCE THOUGHT TO BE UNATTAINABLE AND IMPOSSIBLE IS NOW VERY CLOSE TO REALITY. WITH SCIENTISTS ESTIMATING THAT A MANNED EXPEDITION TO THE MUN WOULD TAKE A WEEK, THE NOTION THAT WE WILL SEE KERBALS WALK UPON ANOTHER WORLD IN OUR LIFETIME IS NOLONGER A QUESTION OF "IF" IT WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED, BUT A MATTER OF "WHEN?" IT WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

CHAPTER TEN: Artemis-2 And Rendezvous Too ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1955, Month 7, Day 24 ~ WRITTEN BY ERRIE KERMAN ABOVE: THE ARTEMIS-2, THE SECOND PRIMARY MISSION OF THE MUNAR PROBE PROGRAM, WAS CONFIRMED TO HAVE LOST CONTACT WITH KERBIN TODAY AFTER PLUNGING INTO THE MUNAR SURFACE DUE TO AN UNDERESTIMATION OF FUEL CONSUMPTION KERMAN SPACE CENTER - A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SPACE PROGRAM HAS CONFIRMED TODAY THAT THE ARTEMIS-2, A SOFT-LANDING PROBE DESIGNED FOR THE MUNAR SURFACE, HAS LOST ALL RADIO CONTACT WITH KERBIN AFTER IMPACTING THE MUNAR SURFACE AT APPROXIMATELY 300M/S. THIS DEVELOPMENT COMES AS A SHOCK TO THE NATION - THE RECENT LANDING OF THE MUNAKHOD PROBE ONTO THE MUN BY THE UNION SHOWS THAT OUR LEAD IN WHAT EXPERTS HAVE DUBBED THE "RACE TO SPACE" IS RAPIDLY SHRINKING. WITH THE UNION HAVING LAUNCHED THEIR OWN KERBAL TO ORBIT IN THE PAST YEAR AND NOW AHEAD OF OUR SPACE PROGRAM IN REGARDS TO THE MUN, A ONCE COMFORTABLE LEAD HAS NOW VANISHED. WERNHER VON KERMAN, THE DIRECTOR OF THE ARA, REFUSED TO SPEAK TO REPORTERS TODAY ABOUT THE FATE OF THE ARTEMIS-2. HE DID RELEASE A STATEMENT LATER IN THE DAY, PROMISING THAT GREATER DEVELOPMENTS WERE UNDERWAY, AS WELL AS PROMISING THAT THE FAILURE OF THE ARTEMIS LANDER WOULD NOT IMPACT THE FLIGHT SCHEDULE OF THE SECOND GENESIS MISSION TO PRACTICE RENDEZVOUS MANEUVERS, AS WELL AS THAT THE SPACE PROGRAM WOULD BE PREPARED TO LAUNCH THE ARTEMIS-3 AS IT'S REPLACEMENT TO THE MUN BY NEXT YEAR. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ WEEKLY WORLD NEWS (EDITION NO.1 1956)(TOTALLY NOT A TABLOID) WRITTEN BY KERBAL ON STREET CORNER WEARING TINFOIL HAT ABOVE: THIS PHOTO RELEASED BY THE ARA SHOWS THE GENESIS-2 PERFORMING A RENDEZVOUS MANEUVER WITH A "PREVIOUSLY LAUNCHED PAYLOAD". IS THAT PAYLOAD A UNION SPACECRAFT, AND DID THE UNITED PROVINCES KIDNAP IT'S CREW? DID THE GOVERNMENT JUST KIDNAP A UNION KERBONAUT? THE CAPITOL - DID THE UNITED PROVINCES GOVERNMENT JUST KIDNAP A KOMMUNIST KERBALONAUT? GRANTED, WE KNOW THAT THE SPACE PROGRAM LAUNCHED A MANNED MISSION LAST WEEK, AND GRANTED, WE KNOW THAT THE MANNED MISSION ACHIEVED ORBIT, WHERE IT RENDEZVOUSED WITH A "OBJECT". BUT WAS THIS "OBJECT" A UNION SPACECRAFT? THESE QUESTIONS ARE BEING ASKED BECAUSE THERE ARE OBVIOUS DISCREPANCIES THE THE "OFFICIAL" STORY. FIRSTLY, THE SPACE PROGRAM CLAIMED THAT THE "OBJECT" WAS A TEST VEHICLE THAT WAS LAUNCHED WITH BASIC THRUSTERS TO CONDUCT ORBITAL MANEUVERS. BUT IN THE PHOTOS RELEASED, THE "OBJECT" HAS NO THRUSTERS - IT IS COMPLETELY IMMOBILE, WHICH RAISES THE POSSIBILITY OF GOVERNMENT SABOTAGE. ALSO, THE SPACE PROGRAM HAS RECENTLY "HIRED" A "RECRUIT" WHOM, ACCORDING TO OUR SOURCES, SPEAKS WITH AN ACCENT THAT IS NOT ATYPICAL OF THE ETHNICITY OF THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE USR. WAS THE UNION KERBONAUT A DEFECTOR? SECONDLY, THE SPACE PROGRAM HAS YET TO RELEASE CLOSEUP PICTURES OF THE "OBJECT". IF THE "OBJECT" TRULY DID BELONG TO THE UNITED PROVINCES, THEN THEY HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE. SINCE THE "OBJECT" IS A CIVILIAN SPACECRAFT OPERATED BY A CIVILIAN AGENCY, THEN HOW COME THEY STILL HAVEN'T RELEASED THESE PHOTOS? WAS THE "OBJECT" SECRET A MILITARY SATELLITE? OR WAS IT WAS KOMMUNIST SPACECRAFT CONTAINING A DEFECTOR? DUE TO THE BLATANT DISREGARD OF THE TRUTH BY THE GOVERNMENT, WE MAY NEVER KNOW. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

CHAPTER NINE: Flight of the Genesis ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ The inside of the Genesis-1 was spacious compared to the little cone of the Redstone. Although it kept the small conical cockpit at the front of the spacecraft, in the back was a cylindrical crew cabin with a large rectangular window that offered a breathtaking view of the outside world. On top of the rocket sat a probe core, with a computer as good as the one on the Helios or Artemis, allowing the craft to fly itself should the need arise. "A modern spacecraft for modern times", Wernher had called it. The Genesis seated two, although Jebediah wondered if it could seat three. Probably not a good idea to try it out. Jebediah was born in 1946. Or, in the words of a recently popularized proverb, "too late to explore the Earth and too early to explore the solar system". He'd also missed out on a series of great wars, but if he missed these wars, he didn't show it. He was a combat veteran himself, taking part in the Peninsular Wars and the Wars of Colonial Suppression, fighting against rebels and revolutionaries in the sky. Now with the space program ramping up, he wondered if the last part of the phrase, "too early to explore the solar system" was outdated itself. His current circumstances were certain proof of the fact. T-5 seconds. Jebediah felt the thumping of his heart against his ribcage. From his viewpoint, only a small square patch of the sky could be seen. He wondered what Neildon saw behind him, as the world fell away. Best not to think about it. T-4 seconds. Neildon adjusted his helmet, tapping on it's sides. "Communications check, CAPCOM. All systems nominal and ready to go." "Understood, Genesis." T-3 seconds. Jebediah felt a anger swell up inside him, the anger of a child when it is confronted by an adult and told to give up it's plaything. Jebediah could feel the eyes of the world watching him like vultures, eager to tear the space program apart at his slightest mistake. Best not to think too deeply. T-2 seconds. On the ground, the camera teams began to zoom in on the rocket in preparation of the next day's headlines. NEW SPACECRAFT GENESIS-1 LIFTS OFF FROM KERBIN, it would say. GENESIS-1 EXPLODES, NO SURVIVORS, was a less desirable alternative, and one that everyone knew would lead to the death of the program. T-1 seconds. The engines rumbled to life, engulfing the cabin in noise. There was a flash, and the crewmembers realized the first stage had now been ignited and were now throttling up. T-0 seconds. The world watched as the craft soared into the sky, and Neildon watched the world fall away beneath him. So it has begun. Neildon felt estastic as the ground lifted away. Unlike the other Kerbals in the test pilot program, he was a newcomer, and had expected to be last on the roster for reaching space. But luck had intervened, and soon, his name would join the ever-going list of those who could call themselves a Kerbonaut. Jebediah squeezed the joystick as pressure mounted on his chest. He focused on the darkening blue sky above him, simply allowing himself to enjoy the moment. Then came a dip in the pressure, and the clamoring of explosive bolts. At once, both Kerbals knew what had happened. Now 24KM above Kerbin, the first stage was discarded and the second stage brought to life, pitching over and bringing them onto a orbital trajectory. "Second stage ignition", called CAPCOM, a few seconds too late. Now with the mass of the ship decreasing, the acceleration felt violent. Loose objects began to rattle, striking at the walls of the cabin, and the craft itself began to shake. Then there was a final jerk forward and the final stage pulled free of it's shroud. At last the third stage fired, it's smooth acceleration allowing the craft to cruise comfortably into orbit. From the small window on the capsule, Jebediah could make out the features of the Kerbin, the tiny mountains, lakes, and the ocean, which seemed vast even in orbit. He wondered what Neildon was seeing. Darn. Should've picked the window seat, he thought. The engines behind the cabin fell silent. The Genesis was now in orbit. Neildon unlatched his helmet, watching the blue light of Kerbin illuminate the main cabin. The spacecraft was silent now. Jebediah was somewhere up, wherever that was, but he had stopped talking. For now, he could think, with nothing but the melodic humming of the life-support systems to keep him company. The silence was soon broken by the staticky and monotonic voice of CAPCOM. "Genesis-1, orbit has been confirmed by ground tracking station. Begin working through the operational flight checklist, reentry is scheduled for tomorrow." Tomorrow. Neildon felt his face stretch into a grin. He and Jebediah would have a full day in space, all six hours of it. Pulling himself free from his seat restraints, he made his way to the center of the cabin, and began to work his way down the checklist. Six hours. Three hundred sixty minutes. Twenty one thousand and six hundred seconds. From his vantage point, there was no sense of direction. It was his small bubble of air and black void that stretched for infinity. Pushing himself to the window, he watched the clouds of Kerbin drift over it's surface. The planet glowed, it's atmosphere going from a solid white to a dark blue as it faded away into the vacuum. He wondered what the first pilots had felt when they flew planes made of nothing more but wood and cloth. It must have felt very similar. Now one hundred and twenty five kilometers above his home planet, he felt happiness. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1955, Month 2, Day 2 ~ "GENESIS-1" A SUCCESS, NEW UNITED PROVINCES SPACECRAFT COMPLETES FIRST MISSION WRITTEN BY ERRIE KERMAN ABOVE: THE GENESIS-1 CAPSULE PARACHUTES INTO THE WHITE SANDS DESERT, IT'S CREW SAFE AFTER SPENDING ONE DAY IN SPACE WHITE SANDS - TODAY THE GENESIS-1 SPACECRAFT WAS RECOVERED SAFELY AFTER A 6-HOUR LONG ORDEAL DURING WHICH THE CREW CONDUCTED EXPERIMENTS IN SPACE AND ORBITED KERBIN A DOZEN TIMES IN THE MOST PERFECT SPACE MISSION YET. LIEUTENANT COMMANDER JEBEDIAH KERMAN WAS ONLY THIRTY SECONDS BEHIND SCHEDULE WHEN HE REENTERED THE ATMOSPHERE AND PARACHUTED TO SAFETY IN THE LANDING ZONE - HE WAS, UNFORTUNATELY, SEVERAL KILOMETERS OFF COURSE - HAVING INTENDED TO LAND IN SHALLOW WATER DUE TO THE POOR PERFORMANCE OF THE GENESIS IN SPLASHDOWN TESTS, HE INSTEAD LANDED ON LAND. DESPITE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT INJURIES TO THE CREW, THE SPACE PROGRAM HAS RELEASED A STATEMENT ON THEIR MEDICAL CONDITION, SAYING "JEBEDIAH AND NEILDON ARE IN EXCELLENT HEALTH AND WILL BE RELEASED SOON ONCE THE QUARANTINE PERIOD IS FINISHED". SHOULD THIS STATEMENT BE TRUE, THEN IT IS A GOOD SIGN FOR SUPPORTERS OF THE SPACE STATION PLAN, NOW NAMED "PROJECT JUPITER" FOR THE ANCIENT GOD OF THE SKY. THE SUCCESSFUL ORBIT OF THE GENESIS COMES AT A TIME WHEN SPACEFLIGHT TOO HAS BECOME A HOTLY CONTESTED ARENA BETWEE NATIONS. RECENTLY, LAST WEEK, THE UNION OF SOCIALIST REPUBLICS LAUNCHED THEIR OWN KERBAL INTO SPACE AS WELL AS A MUNAR IMPACT PROBE. WITH PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN ESCALATING HIS POLICY OF "HOLDING BACK KOMMUNIST IDEALS", TENSIONS HAVE NEVER BEEN GREATER BETWEEN THE MAJOR POWERS OF KERBIN. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

CHAPTER EIGHT: To the Mun! (And Beyond) ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1954, Month 5, Day 10 ~ "ARTEMIS-1" SPACECRAFT LAUNCHED TO THE MUN, ACHIEVES ORBIT. WRITTEN BY DOLING KERMAN ABOVE: THE ARTEMIS-1 SPACECRAFT, NAMED FOR THE ANCIENT KERBAL GODDESS OF THE MUN, IN ORBIT OVER IT'S SURFACE KERMAN ASTRONAUTICS CENTER - YESTERDAY AFTERNOON A MULTI-STAGE JUNO-CLASS ROCKET LIFTED OFF FROM THE SPACE CENTER. IT'S DESTINATION WAS THE MUN, THE CLOSEST NATURAL SATELLITE OF KERBIN. AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE ASTRONAUTICS RESEARCH AGENCY EARLY TODAY STATED THAT IT'S PAYLOAD, THE SPACECRAFT ARTEMIS-1, HAD ENTERED THE MUN'S GRAVITATIONAL INFLUENCE: THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WAS FOLLOWED BY CONFIRMATION FROM THE AGENCY THAT THE ARTEMIS HAD SUCCESSFULLY FIRED IT'S LAST STAGE AND ENTERED INTO A ELLIPTICAL ORBIT AROUND THE MUN. THE ARTEMIS-1 IS A SIMPLE PROBE: IT WILL NOT RETURN TO KERBIN BUT INSTEAD CONDUCT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AROUND THE MUN UNTIL IT SIMPLY CEASES TO FUNCTION. THE SUCCESSFUL ORBIT OF THE ARTEMIS, NOW THE FURTHEST KERBAL-MADE OBJECT FROM OUR HOME PLANET, IS A STUNNING NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF SPACEFLIGHT. PREVIOUSLY NO OTHER OBJECT - SAVE FOR A FAILED COMMUNIST MUNSHOT THAT ENDED UP 3,000KM FROM KERBIN - HAS EVER ATTEMPTED OR SUCCEEDED AT ESCAPING THE GRAVITATIONAL INFLUENCE OF KERBIN. THE SIZE OF THE ARTEMIS HAS RAISED SPECULATION THAT A MANNED MISSION TO MUNAR ORBIT MAY BE POSSIBLE NOW. OBSERVERS OF THE PROBE AND IT'S FINAL STAGE NOTED THAT IT APPEARED TO BE LARGE ENOUGH TO FIT A KERBAL AND ENOUGH PROVISIONS FOR A WEEK ALONG WITH ENOUGH SPACE FOR THE KERBAL TO BREATHE, SLEEP, AND EVEN STRETCH. IN VIEW OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS, RUMORS ARE ABOUND THAT THE SPACE PROGRAM HAS ALREADY DEDICATED SCIENTISTS TO PREPARING A MANNED EXPEDITION TO THE MUN, A FEAT THAT WOULD BE UNPARALLELED BY ANOTHER OTHER IN HISTORY. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1954, Month 7, Day 29 ~ "HELIOS-1" SPACE PROBE ENTERS ORBIT OF THE SUN BY ERRIE KERMAN ABOVE: THE HELIOS-1, A MODIFIED BACKUP UNIT OF THE ARTEMIS-1 IN ORBIT OF THE SUN KERMAN RESEARCH CENTER - CONFIRMATION ARRIVED TODAY THAT THE PROBE HELIOS HAD SUCCESSFULLY ENTERED INTO ORBIT OF THE SUN. AFTER A THREE DAY JOURNEY THAT STARTED WITH A LAUNCH FROM KSC, ASTRONOMERS HAVE CONFIRMED THROUGH RADIO AND TELEMETRY THAT THE HELIOS HAS BECOME THE FIRST ARTIFICIAL OBJECT TO ESCAPE THE GRAVITATIONAL INFLUENCE OF KERBIN. THE HELIOS, BUILT FROM THE BACKUP UNIT OF THE SUCCESSFUL ARTEMIS PROBE, WILL NOT RETURN TO KERBIN: IT IS ON A ELLIPTICAL ORBIT, GOING AS CLOSE AS MOHO AND AS FAR AS DUNA IN ORDER TO STUDY INTERPLANETARY SPACE AT IT'S FULL BREADTH. THE HELIOS IS ONLY ONE IN A SERIES OF SUCCESSES FOR THE NEWLY BORN SPACE PROGRAM. WITH SATELLITES AROUND THE MUN, MULTIPLE AROUND KERBIN, AND NOW THE SUN BEING EXPLORED THROUGH PROBES, IT IS LIKELY THAT MORE AND MORE AMBITIOUS MISSIONS WILL OCCUR IN THE NEAR FUTURE. ALREADY BEING READIED FOR LAUNCH IS A MISSION TO PERFORM A LANDING ON THE MUNAR SURFACE WHILE ARTEMIS-STYLE ORBITING MISSIONS TO OUR PLANETARY NEIGHBORS, DUNA AND EVE. EVE ITSELF IS A FASCINATING DESTINATION: WITH IT'S THICK PLANETWIDE ATMOSPHERE OBSCURING IT'S HIDDEN SURFACE, MANY HAVE WONDERED ABOUT IT'S SURFACE, AND WHETHER THERE IS LIFE ON THE PLANET. DUNA, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS RED AND DRY, BUT IT IS LIKELY LIFE HAS EXISTED THERE IN THE PAST AND PERHAPS, SOME HAVE THEORIZED, AN INTELLIGENT CIVILIZATION COULD HAVE SURVIVED WHAT HAD KILLED OFF THE REST OF THE ORGANIC LIFE ON THE PLANET. ONLY TIME WILL TELL WHAT THE UNIVERSE REVEALS TO US. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

CHAPTER SEVEN: Orbit ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ 1954, Month 2, Day 7 ~ "REDSTONE-2" SPACECRAFT PERFORMS ORBIT AROUND KERBIN: VALENTINA KERMAN LAUDED AS NATIONAL HERO WRITTEN BY WALTER KERMAN ABOVE: THE REDSTONE-2 IN ORBIT OVER THE DESERTS OF KERBIN, AND A VIEW FROM THE COCKPIT OF THE REDSTONE-2 AS IT COMPLETES THE SECOND ORBIT OF THE MISSION KERMAN ROCKETRY RESEARCH CENTER - THE LAUNCH OF THE REDSTONE-2 SPACECRAFT TODAY SERVED AS A REMINDER OF THE INEVITABILITY OF SPACE TRAVEL LEAVING THE REALM OF FICTION AND ENTERING THE WORLD OF SCIENTIFIC FACT. EARLY THIS MORNING, THE REDSTONE-2 ROARED INTO THE SKY FROM IT'S PAD AT THE KERMAN RESEARCH CENTER. CARRYING THE SMALL CAPSULE INTO THE SKY WAS THE MOST ADVANCED AND LARGEST LIQUID-FUELLED ROCKET BUILT TO DATE, WITH THREE STAGES OF ENGINES. AS IT HURTLED INTO THE SKY, THE ROCKET SHED LAYERS OF FUEL TANKS, BEFORE FINALLY RELEASING THE SPACECRAFT AND IT'S RETROFIRE PACK INTO A COMFORTABLE 139X98KM ORBIT AROUND THE PLANET. THE CREW OF THE REDSTONE-2, A BRAVE PILOT BY THE NAME OF VALENTINA KERMAN, PERFORMED EXPERIMENTS AND GATHERED DATA FOR THREE HOURS BEFORE FIRING THE RETROROCKETS AND LANDING HER CRAFT INTO THE SEA. SHE IS CURRENTLY AWAITING RELEASE AFTER A POST-FLIGHT MEDICAL EXAMINATION AND A QUARANTINE PERIOD OF THREE DAYS. NOW HAVING BOTH LAUNCHED THE FIRST KERBAL INTO ORBIT AS WELL AS THE FIRST FEMALE KERBAL INTO SPACE, THE UNITED PROVINCES HAS SURGED FAR AHEAD OF THE USR IN THE FIELD OF SPACEFLIGHT, A LEAD THAT WERNER VON KERMAN AS WELL AS NEWLY INAUGURATED PRESIDENT FRANK KERMAN IS DETERMINED TO MAINTAIN AT ALL COSTS. THE IDEA OF SPACE TRAVEL AS HISTORICALLY BEEN A CONTROVERSIAL ONE. IN THE PAST, MANY NOTABLE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND ACADEMIA HAVE CRITICIZED THE IDEA AS "HOGWASH", "BULL EXCREMENT", AND "IMPOSSIBLE". THE FLIGHT OF THE REDSTONE-2 SERVES TO PROVE THAT MORE THAN EVER, TIMES ARE CHANGING, AND MORE THAN EVER, WHAT WAS ONCE THOUGH "IMPOSSIBLE" IS NOW A REALITY OF TODAY. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ AIR & FLIGHT JOURNAL 1954, Month 3, Day 21 SPACE PROGRAM RELEASES NEW PHOTOS OF MOCKUP OF PLANNED SPACE STATION, ANNOUNCES NEW PLAN FOR LONG-TERM SPACE EXPLORATION ABOVE: A MOCKUP OF THE PROPOSED SPACE STATION, DUBBED "PROJECT HORIZON" IS DISPLAYED ON THE LAUNCHPAD DURING LAST NIGHT'S PRESS CONFERENCE KERMAN SPACE CENTER - YESTERDAY AT NOON, WERNER VON KERMAN PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED THE GOALS OF THE SPACE PROGRAM AS WELL AS NEW DEVELOPMENTS FROM WITHIN. PROPOSING A MUNAR AND SOLAR PROBE PROGRAM AS WELL AS PROJECTS FOR EXTENDED SPACEFLIGHT, WERNER UNVEILED A MOCKUP OF THE PLANNED "SPACE STATION" ON THE NEWLY UPGRADED LAUNCHPAD OF THE RESEARCH CENTER. THE "SPACE STATION", WHICH IS SET TO BEGIN OPERATIONS IN 1957 IN CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL YEAR, DURING WHICH BOTH THE UNITED PROVINCES AND UNION OF SOCIALIST REPUBLICS WILL EXCHANGE SCIENTIFIC TEAMS AND INFORMATION. WERNHER BRUSHED OFF RUMORS OF THE SPACE PROGRAM DEVELOPING PLANS FOR A MANNED MISSION TO THE MUN, STATING IN A PRESS RELEASE, "NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR KERBALKIND TO HANDLE SUCH A UNDERTAKING, I'M AFRAID. I'M AMBITIOUS, NOT STUPID."

CHAPTER SIX: Gone Suborbital ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ~ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES ~ ~ 1952, Month 3, Day 14 ~ UNION COMMUNISTS LAUNCH SATELLITE: UNITED PROVINCES NOT ALONE IN SPACE THE CAPITOL - THE PULSATING "BEEP" OF THE UNION SATELLITE IN SPACE TODAY IS A REMINDER OF THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE IN EXPLORING SPACE. THE KOMMUNIST UNION ANNOUNCED TODAY THROUGH RADIO THAT IT CLAIMED OWNERSHIP OF THE SATELLITE, NAMED THE STAYPUTNIK, AND THAT ANY VIOLATION OF UNITED PROVINCIAL AIRSPACE WAS NULL AND VOID AS THE EXPLORER-1 SATELLITE HAD ALREADY VIOLATED THEIRS. THE AEROSPACE RESEARCH COUNCIL MET IN THE CAPITOL TODAY TO DISCUSS A LONG-TERM PLAN FOR THE SPACE PROGRAM AS WELL AS THE STUNNING NEW DEVELOPMENT IN SPACE TRAVEL, WITH WERNHER PROMISING TO CONGRESS THAT A REPORT ON A PLAUSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE LONG-TERM STRATEGY WOULD BE AVAILABLE BY NEXT YEAR. THE UNEXPECTED LAUNCH OF THE STAYPUTNIK WAS A TREMENDOUS VICTORY FOR UNION PROPAGANDA AS IT CAN NOW TRUMPET TO THE WORLD THAT IT ALONE HAS STOOD UP TO THE UNITED PROVINCES IN SPACEFLIGHT, A FIELD VIRTUALLY DOMINATED BY OUR NATION - UNTIL TODAY. MAJOR BORIS-IVAN OF THE KOMMUNIST SPACE PROGRAM ISSUED A PRESS RELEASE TODAY, CALLING IT "A MONUMENTAL VICTORY FOR THE IDEALS OF KOMMUNISM, AND A NATIONAL SYMBOL OF WHAT THE PROLETARIAT CAN ACCOMPLISH". A GREEN HOUSE SPOKESPERSON SPOKE TO THE PRESS TODAY OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS. "WHILE WE ARE HAPPY FOR THE CONTINUED ADVANCES IN SPACE SCIENCE BY ALL PARTIES, WE MUST ENSURE THAT WARS OF AGGRESSION THAT OCCUR ON KERBIN DO NOT HAPPEN IN SPACE", A STATEMENT THAT HAS GENERATED MUCH BACKLASH FROM THE UNION. "WE DON'T WANT TO DESTROY YOUR [REDACTED] SATELLITE", STATED BORIS AT A STATE DINNER. "WE DON'T WANT TO DESTROY ANYTHING. WE WANT PEACE." THE UNION WAS UNAVAILABLE TO COMMENT ON THE SUDDEN CESSATION OF RADIO SIGNALS FROM THE STAYPUTNIK. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ~ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES (NOW IN COLOR!) ~ ~ 1953, Month 1, Day 2 ~ PROFESSOR WELLS SHAVES MUSTACHE AS JEBEDIAH KERMAN ENTERS SPACE, A LOSS FOR ALL FACIAL HAIR ENTHUSAISTS WRITTEN BY DOLING KERMAN ABOVE: JEBEDIAH KERMAN'S SPACE CAPSULE FIRES IT'S SECOND STAGE, BRINGING THE CRAFT INTO SPACE. KERMAN ROCKETRY RESEARCH CENTER - TODAY WAS A HUGE MILESTONE FOR ALL KERBALKIND AS LIEUTENANT JEBEDIAH KERMAN, A TEST PILOT ASSIGNED TO THE ROCKETRY PROGRAM, HAS FLOWN PAST THE ATMOSPHERE AT AN ALTITUDE RECORD OF 139KM AND ENTERED SPACE, A FEAT THAT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. LAUNCHING AT NOON TODAY, JEBEDIAH'S "REDSTONE-1" ROCKET FLEW INTO THE SKY AT SEVERAL TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND AT SPEEDS THAT NO MANNED CRAFT HAS EVER ACCOMPLISHED. JEBEDIAH KERMAN SPENT AROUND FIVE MINUTES IN SPACE BEFORE REENTERING THE ATMOSPHERE AND SPLASHING DOWN IN THE SEA, WHERE HIS SMALL CAPSULE WAS RECOVERED BY A TASK FORCE OF NAVAL VESSELS SENT OUT EARLIER. HE IS CURRENTLY IN QUARANTINE CELL IN CASE OF SUFFERING OF A THEORETICAL CASE OF "SPACE SICKNESS" AND WILL BE RELEASED IN A WEEK. FOOTAGE OF HIS LAUNCH WAS CIRCULATED BY TELEVISION STATIONS AND RADIO BROADCASTERS AROUND THE GLOBE. HOWEVER, THE PRICE OF KERBALKIND'S ASCENT INTO THE HEAVENS HAS COME AT A COST. PROFESSOR WELLS KERMAN TODAY APPEARED IN PUBLIC CLEAN-SHAVEN, HIS MUSTACHE COMPLETELY GONE, THIS TIME HUMBLED FROM HIS CLASH OF WORDS WITH DR. WERNER VON KERMAN. "IT APPEARS THAT I WAS WRONG ABOUT OUR CAPABILITIES", STATED THE PROFESSOR. "HOWEVER, THERE IS AN OLD ADAGE THAT GOES; IF A OLD SCIENTIST SAYS SOMETHING IS POSSIBLE, HE USUALLY IS CORRECT. IF HE SAYS SOMETHING IS IMPOSSIBLE, HE USUALLY ISN'T". WELLS THEN REQUESTED SOME SNACKS FROM THE NEWS CREW: HIS REQUEST WAS GRANTED. WERNER VON KERMAN WAS ESTASTIC TODAY REGARDING THE SUCCESS OF REDSTONE-1. "I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL ACCOMPLISH OUR GOAL OF PLACING A KERBAL INTO ORBIT BY 1955 AHEAD OF SCHEDULE", HE SAID TO REPORTERS. "I ALSO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN RETURN HIM SAFELY TO KERBIN." THE VICTORY OF THE UNITED PROVINCES IN SENDING A KERBAL TO SPACE IS LIKELY TO SEND SHOCKWAVES THROUGH THE UNION KOMMUNISTS AS THE UNITED PROVINCES SNAGS ANOTHER VICTORY. BUT ALL THAT IS CERTAIN IS THAT WELLS WASN'T RIGHT: KERBALKIND IS ENTERING A NEW ERA OF SPACE TRAVEL.

CHAPTER FIVE: The Satellite ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES ~ 1952, Month 1, Day 7 ~ "EXPLORER-1" SATELLITE LAUNCHED BY "SPACE PROGRAM": IS IT A HOAX? By Billy-Bobfred Kerman ABOVE: THE "SATELLITE" LAUNCHED TODAY ONBOARD A ROCKET. IS IT A HOAX? KERMAN ROCKETRY RESEARCH CENTER - TODAY THE "SPACE" PROGRAM ANNOUNCED A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH IN TECHNOLOGY - A ROCKET, CARRYING A SMALL CONTRAPTION WEIGHING 400 POUNDS, ENTERED ORBIT AROUND KERBIN. THE TWO-STAGE ROCKET ROARED INTO THE SKY AROUND DAWN LAST THURSDAY AND LATER PERFORMED A 78-DEGREE TURN BEFORE FIRING THE SECOND STAGE, WHICH BOOSTED IT'S TINY PAYLOAD INTO A CIRCULAR TRAJECTORY AROUND KERBIN, ONE THAT WOULD ENABLE IT TO ORBIT AS "THE MUN". IN SHORT, IT IS AN ARTIFICIAL MOON. THE NEWS OF THIS SATELLITE LAUNCH COMES TODAY AS THE PRESIDENT GIVES A SPEECH AT GONDWANA AIR FORCE BASE TOMORROW. HOWEVER, THE IDEA OF A SATELLITE WAS NOT VERY WELL RECEIVED BY THE KOMMUNIST UNION, WHO TODAY PLEDGED TO ISSUE A DIPLOMATIC PROTEST THROUGH FAX EVERYTIME THE SATELLITE CROSSED THEIR "AIRSPACE". AS OF THE PUBLICATION OF THIS NEWSPAPER, THE GREEN HOUSE HAS YET TO RESPOND TO ANYTHING, STATING THAT THEY ARE "VERY BUSY" AT "FINDING MORE INK", WHATEVER THAT MAY MEAN. HOWEVER, A GROWING FACTION OF KERBALS BELIEVE THAT THIS "SATELLITE" IS NOTHING BUT A HOAX FAKED BY THE ROCKETRY AGENCY TO GAIN MORE FUNDING. ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT CRITICS IS BARTMON KERMAN, A EXECUTIVE AND CEO OF THE KENORLAND TELEPHONE COMPANY. "THE IDEA OF MAINTAINING A CONSTANT CIRCULAR VELOCITY AROUND KERBIN IS A IDIOTIC IDEAL AND CONTRARY TO THE ACCEPTED NOTIONS OF MODERN PHYSICS", HE ARGUED TODAY. "THE SPACE PROGRAM HAS NO SHAME." WERNHER VON KERMAN, DIRECTOR OF THE SPACE PROGRAM, HAS RESPONDED TO THE CRITICISM. "I UNDERSTAND THAT MANY ARE UPSET BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T PAY ENOUGH ATTENTION AND FLUNKED THEIR HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS CLASS", HE SAID IN A PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY. "BUT THE SATELLITE CAN MAINTAIN ANGULAR VELOCITY DUE TO SPACE BEING A VACUMN. AFTER ALL, THERE IS NOTHING IN A VACUMN, AND THEREFORE, THERE IS NOTHING TO SLOW THE SATELLITE DOWN, SO IT MAINTAINS IT'S ORBITAL TRAJECTORY." THE NEWS OF A SATELLITE LAUNCH COMES AS A SHOCK TO MANY PEOPLE WHO ONCE IMAGINED SPACE TRAVEL FOR KERBALS AS IMPOSSIBLE. WITH THE SPACE PROGRAM ALREADY HAVING LAUNCHED IT'S OWN ARTIFICIAL MOON, KERBALKIND IS EVER CLOSER TO REACHING THE PLANETS. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ~ THE CAPITOL SUN TIMES ~ ~ 1952, Month 1, Day 8 ~ PRESIDENT KERMAN PLEDGES SUPPORT TO SPACE PROGRAM, ANNOUNCES "EXECUTIVE TASK FORCE" TO FIND A LONG TERM GOAL WRITTEN BY NEDBOB KERMAN GONDWANA AIR FORCE BASE - THE PRESIDENT TODAY SPOKE FAVORABLY OF THE SPACE PROGRAM AT GONDWANA AIR FORCE BASE, LAMBASTING IT'S CRITICS AS "SHORT-SIGHTED" AND CALLING THE SPACE PROGRAM "A MONUMENTAL NATIONAL EFFORT TOWARDS WHICH WE CANNOT UNDERESTIMATE". HIS SUPPORT COULD PROVE TO BE CRUCIAL TOWARDS THE ROCKETRY PROGRAM, WHICH IS IN DESPERATE NEED OF POLITICAL SUPPORT AS THE GOVERNMENT PREPARES IT'S FISCAL BILL FOR 1952. THE PRESIDENT ALSO STRESSED THE NEED FOR A LONG-TERM GOAL OF THE SPACE PROGRAM, WHETHER IT BE "PUTTING A KERBAL ON THE MUN AND RETURNING HIM SAFELY TO KERBIN" OR A "ORBITING SCIENTIFIC SPACE STATION TO RESEARCH THE EFFECTS OF SPACEFLIGHT ON KERBALS". NEVERTHELESS, HIS SPEECH TODAY IS A BOON FOR THE SPACE PROGRAM, WHICH HAS SEEN SURGING POPULARITY AS WELL AS GREAT SUCCESSES IN THE PAST YEAR, TAKING OVER FROM NOW-DECLASSIFIED ROCKETRY PROGRAMS ALREADY IN USE BY THE ARMY, NAVY, AND AIR FORCE. THE MILITARY ITSELF IS A WILDCARD IN THE NEW FIELD OF SPACE EXPLORATION, AND ONLY TIME WILL TELL IF THEY WILL USE THEIR POLITICAL MIGHT TO CRUSH THE SPACE PROGRAM IN IT'S INFANCY OR RAISE IT AS THEIR OWN.